George Zimmerman – he just won’t go away. According to multiple news
sources, including Newsweek, in his latest “adventure,” Zimmerman is suing
presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg for $265
million. He is claiming they defamed him while paying tribute to Trayvon
Martin in order to “garner votes in the Black community.”
According to a lawsuit filed in a Florida court, both Warren and Buttigieg
acted with malice or “at a minimum a reckless disregard for the truth”
after they tweeted about Martin on February 5 on what would have been his
25th birthday. Zimmerman shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin, who was
unarmed, in Sanford, Florida, in February 2012.
A jury acquitted Zimmerman of murder after his lawyers argued that he was
acting in self-defense. The decision sparked widespread protests and unrest
that helped launch the Black Lives Matter movement. “My heart goes out to
[Martin’s mother] @SybrinaFulton and Trayvon’s family and friends. He
should still be with us today,” Warren tweeted to her 3.7 million
followers. “We need to end gun violence and racism. And we need to build a
world where all of our children-especially young Black boys-can grow up
safe and free.”
In a tweet to his 1.7 million followers, Buttigieg added, “Trayvon Martin
would have been 25 today. How many 25th birthdays have been stolen from us
by White supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?” Buttigieg ended his
tweet using a Black Lives Matter hash tag. Zimmerman’s lawsuit claims both
Warren and Buttigieg falsely linked Martin’s death with “gun violence”
despite him acting in self-defense on the night of the shooting.
The lawsuit adds that use of the term “gun violence” is more associated
with the “reckless and indiscriminate use of illegally owned firearms” that
results in the death of an innocent victim. The lawsuit also claims the
tweets defame Zimmerman by suggesting his actions were a result of White
supremacy or racism, or that he acted out of “fear” because of Martin’s
skin color. The lawsuit states that both Warren and Buttigieg’s tweets were
part of their “political agenda to garner votes in the Black community.”
