Mediaboss Marketing

June 24, 2013— -- The shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman and the investigation leading up to the murder trial has spanned 16 months and many legal bombshells.

Here is a recap of how the case has unfolded:

Feb. 26, 2012 At about 7:17 pm George Zimmerman shoots Trayvon Martin as the 17-year-old is walking back from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla., Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, had called 911 about the "suspicious teen" and allegedly followed him. He immediately told police he shot Martin in self-defense after a scuffle. He is taken into custody but released that night. No charges are filed.

March 8, 2012 - Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the teenager's parents, create a Change.org petition calling for Zimmerman's arrest. Within 10 days it would have 200,000 signatures, and would swell at the pace of about 10,000 signatures an hour for several days.

March 9: Two weeks after Martin was killed, Trayvon Martin's family attorney Benjamin Crump demands that police release the 911 tapes or make an arrest. Police declined to comment at the time, but told ABC News the tapes would be released the following week.

March 13: Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee said there is no evidence to dispute Zimmerman's assertion that he shot Martin in self defense. That same day the lead investigator on the case Chris Serino files an affidavit recommending Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter.

March 16: Martin's family first hears 911 calls made the night of the shooting. The cries for help send the boy's mother screaming from the room and prompted his father to declare, "He killed my son," a family representative tells ABC News. In a letter a day earlier Zimmerman's father insists it was George's voice crying for help. Tracy Martin's account is later disputed, when a police officer quotes Martin as saying the voice crying out was not his son.

March 19: The U.S. Justice Department announces it will investigate Martin's death.

March 22, 2012 State Attorney Norm Wolfinger recuses himself from the case, does not provide an explanation. Sanford police chief Bill Lee announces he will resign "temporarily." Rallies calling for George Zimmerman's arrest start taking place across the nation.

March 23, 2012 - President Obama comments on the case, saying he thinks the shooting should be investigated and telling reporters: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

Florida Gov. Rick Scott appoints state attorney Angela Corey as a special prosecutor to look into the case. He also creates a task force to look into the state's "stand your ground" self-defense law.

March 26, 2012 - Martin's family confirms that Martin had been in Sanford visiting his father because he was suspended from school after school officers found a plastic bag containing traces of marijuana in his backpack.

March 28, 2012 ABC News obtains surveillance video from the Sanford Police station showing George Zimmerman in police custody and without significant visible injuries approximately an hour after the shooting is released. Later, enhanced video show marks to his head and a swollen nose.

April 3, 2012 - The FBI announces it has opened its own investigation into the Martin shooting.

April 9, 2012 - Zimmerman launches TheRealGeorgeZimmerman.com, replete with a paypal account for donations for his legal fund.

April 10, 2012 In a bizarre press conference, Zimmerman's attorneys, Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner, announce they have lost contact with their client and no longer represent him.

April 11, 2012 - Special prosecutor Angela Corey announces that Zimmerman is being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting and that he is in police custody. Mark O'Mara, an Orlando defense attorney is retained.

April 20, 2012 ABC News obtains a photo of Zimmerman taken moments after the shooting. The photo shows Zimmerman with a bloodied head. His lawyers allude to the photo during his bail hearing later that morning. Judge Kenneth Lester grants Zimmerman $150,000 bail provided he wear electronic monitoring devices.

April 29, 2012 Zimmerman's attorney creates a website called GZlegalcase.com promising to continuously update the site with content. A donation tab is also placed on the site

June 1, 2012 Zimmerman's bond is revoked after the state provides evidence indicating that he and his wife were speaking in code concerning their finances. Zimmerman claimed during his bail hearing that he was financially indigent. However, it was revealed that he knew that he had at least $135,000 in his bank account after receiving donations from supporters online.

June 3, 2012 - Zimmerman wearing a bullet proof vest is booked back behind bars

June 12, 2012 Shellie Zimmerman is arrested and charged with one count of perjury for lying under oath about the state of her finances during her husband's initial bail hearing.

June 21, 2012 A trove of information including video re-enactments are released on GZlegalcase.com showing relatively consistent statements provided to police by Zimmerman in the initial days after the shooting. Among them: "He took my head and slammed it against the concrete several times, and each time I thought my head was going to explode."

July 5, 2012 Judge Kenneth Lester once again gives Zimmerman bond. But this time he sets the amount at $1 million.

July 13, 2012 Zimmerman legal team files a motion to disqualify Judge Lester from the case.

Aug. 30, 2012 Following the ruling of the 5th District Court of Appeal, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester disqualifies himself from the bench and is replaced by Judge Debra Nelson

April 30, 2013 Zimmerman waives a hearing under the states "Stand Your Ground" Law. This means the state will not see the defense presentation of its evidence until the trial.

May 23, 2013 Zimmerman defense releases new photos taken from Trayvon Martin cell phone including a picture of what appears to be a marijuana plant and gun. The controversial images are met with outrage by the Martin family and others who claim they are meant to tarnish the reputation of Martin and are irrelevant to the case.

June 20, 2013 Both sides agreed on an all-women jury plus four alternates.

See more here:
Timeline of the George Zimmerman Murder Trial - ABC News

For the six Florida jurors who decided the fate of George Zimmerman, four minutes likely proved crucial. Saturday night, after hours of deliberation, a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter in the death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman claimed he shot the unarmed teen in self-defense following a confrontation in Sanford, Fla., in February of 2012.

During those four minutes the 29-year-old Zimmerman claimed he was attacked by the teenager and brutally beaten before he reached for his concealed nine-millimeter handgun and shot Martin in the chest in order to save his own life.

Zimmerman's defense attorney Mark O'Mara set aside four minutes of his closing remarks during which the jurors heard only silence. While prosecutors claimed that Zimmerman spent that four minutes stalking Martin, Zimmerman claimed he followed a police dispatcher's advice to abandon pursuit and headed back to his car when Martin attacked him.

Prosecutors sought to sow doubt in jurors' minds about Zimmerman's honesty, pointing to inconsistencies in his story they claimed were designed to concoct a narrative of self-defense Zimmerman allegedly knew would be necessary to prove his innocence. But even if the jury did not trust Zimmerman, the burden of proof was on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his story was untrue. The defense needed only to sow enough doubt for an acquittal, not prove that everything Zimmerman said was accurate or honest. The defense didn't have to prove that Zimmerman was a good person or model citizenor even that he was telling the truth about what happenedthey only needed to prevent the state from ensuring that the jurors felt certain beyond a reasonable doubt about what happened during that four minutes.

Removing reasonable doubt was what the prosecution believed the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, who was speaking to Martin on the phone before his encounter with Zimmerman, would do. Jeantel testified that Martin was frightened because he was being followed, and that she heard Martin ask someone why that person was following him, before shouting "get off." After that, Jeantel said, the call went dead.

There were prior inconsistencies in her account regarding her age, and whether she had attended a wake for Martin, leading observers to speculate on whether the jury would find Jeantel believable. Given the jury's verdict, it seems likely that they did not, or that even if they did, it was insufficient to account for those four minutes during which only two people truly know what happened.

Only one of them is still alive.

See the article here:
Why George Zimmerman was acquitted - MSNBC.com

In July 2013, a jury acquitted George Zimmerman of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of unarmed black man Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Martin and Zimmerman crossed paths in a gated community in South Florida, where George worked as a crime-watch volunteer. Against the advice of a 911 operator, George followed Trayvon into the compound because he looked suspicious.

An altercation between Trayvon and George ensued in which Zimmerman fatally shot the 17-year-old. Zimmermans acquittal sparked outrage across the country and partially contributed to the start of the Black Lives Matter movement.

George Zimmerman cant outrun the Trayvon Martin shooting simply because he doesnt want to. Zimmerman claims that the media wont let him live a normal life, yet hes the one that keeps resurrecting the case. George toldThe Daily Beast:

If I have to live my life and if I have to go about my business as a normal person, then I would do that. However, Im not afforded that luxury anymore. You guys. The media. The masses. The Fulton-Martin family. They took that from me.

In a canceled November 2021 gathering dubbed the Lethal Force Gun Laws 2021 Tactics & Strategies Conference, Zimmerman was due to give a step-by-step narrative of the events that led to Trayvons shooting.

The organizers had booked The Riverside Hotel in Boise for a weekend, but the hotelier canceled the event after learning that George would speak. A statement by the Garden City hotels ownership group said:

We recognize the immense pain that George Zimmerman has inflicted on many of our guests, team-members and community. With their respect and safety as our priority, we have canceled the event. We are unequivocally opposed to providing George Zimmerman a platform and he is not welcome at The Riverside Hotel.

George seems intent on earning from the infamous case. In December 2019, he filed a $100 million suit against Trayvons family, their lawyer, and prosecutors. He demanded payment for malicious prosecution by prosecutors and defamation by Trayvons family and their attorney, Benjamin Crump.

I have every confidence that this unfounded and reckless lawsuit will be revealed for what it is, another failed attempt the defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others,said a statement by Crump.

In February 2020, George filed a suit against politicians Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren for allegedly defaming him on Twitter. Pete and Warren tweeted against gun violence, but they didnt mention Zimmerman by name.

Nevertheless, George claimed that the duo defamed him because the name George Zimmerman is 100% synonymous with the incident that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin. In this case, Zimmerman asked the court to grant $265 million in damages.

Zimmerman tried to adopt a private life in the months after his acquittal. However, a domestic violence accusation by his girlfriend brought him back to the limelight.

A public altercation with a motorist a year later gave George Zimmerman another spell in the headlines. George welcomed the attention as it gave him a platform to auction American flag paintings on eBay.

He tried to remain relevant by insulting President Obama and retweeting photos of Trayvons dead body. Zimmerman then marketed his gun as an American Firearm icon as a symbol of American patriotism.

The firearm sold for $138,900 to an anonymous buyer. Zimmermans actions attracted criticism, but he defended himself by blaming Trayvons parents for alleged poor parenting. George toldThe Daily Beast:

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin did everything they could to capitalize on her sons death. She was never a mother figure to him. Tracy Martin couldnt have cared less about their son. He treated him like a dog without a leash.

Zimmerman alleged that he prayed on the matter before deciding to auction the gun. Leonard Pitts of theMiami Heraldviewed Georges actions as extremely distasteful:

The marketing of the gun that killed him by the man who pulled the trigger does not feel like simply another example of flagrantly bad taste. No, it feels like a victory lap on a dead boys grave. So when this thing is sold it really wont matter who writes the check. We all will pay the price.

To Zimmerman, the worst thing to come out of Trayvons shooting was the Black Lives Matter movement. He believes that the actual victims arent Black people but the men and women in blue.

George said hed be willing to make any officer combating BLM protests richer than they ever dreamed of being. He added:

I would take that money and I would make sure that every law enforcement officer and every single civilian who is affected by the Black Lives Matter fraudulent, violent campaign those officers, those civilians, their entire families were made wealthy beyond their wildest imaginations.

Share Copy Link Copied

Read this article:
Where is George Zimmerman now in 2022? He remains ... - TheNetline

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - With the arrest of George Zimmerman, some some of the confusing aspects of the are starting to come into sharper focus. With charges, the legal system begins or organize what happens next, but as that happens, it's important to understand what got George Zimmerman and prosecutors to this point.

With the help of the Associated Press, here's a look at the basics of the case, along with answers to some frequently asked questions.

Second-degree murder means a killing that was not premeditated but resulted instead from an "imminently dangerous act" that showed a "depraved" lack of regard for human life.

THE PROSECUTOR'S CHALLENGE:

Under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight, Corey must first prove to a judge that Zimmerman wasn't defending himself when he killed Trayvon Martin. Only then can she take the case to a jury, in front of which she will face a high legal burden to prove that the killing wasn't in self-defense.

--Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, of Zimmerman: "The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon's eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?"

--Zimmerman's new lawyer, Mark O'Mara: "He is troubled by everything that has happened. I cannot imagine living in George Zimmerman's shoes for the past number of weeks. Because he has been at the focus of a lot of anger, and maybe confusion and maybe some hatred and that has to be difficult. ... I'm expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end."

--O'Mara on Zimmerman: "I'm not concerned about his mental well-being."

--Special prosecutor Angela Corey: "We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition."

--Stacy Davis, who is black, reacting to Zimmerman's arrest: "It's not a black or white thing for me. It's a right or wrong thing. He needed to be arrested. I'm happy because maybe that boy (Martin) can get some rest."

--George Zimmerman to a 911 dispatcher the night of the shooting: "This guy looks like he is up to no good -- he is on drugs or something."

--President Barack Obama, earlier in the case: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

------

Q: WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR ZIMMERMAN TO BE ARRESTED?

A: Special prosecutor Angela Corey says that probable cause had to be determined before authorities could arrest Zimmerman. She said there was only a slight delay, when she took it over from the previous prosecutor, who recused himself from the case.

Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense after Martin pursued and attacked him. Florida is among 21 states with the "stand your ground law," which allows police on the scene to decide whether they believe the self-defense claim.

In many cases, the officers make an arrest and leave it to the courts to work out whether the deadly force is justified. In this case, however, police have said they are confident they did the right thing by not charging Zimmerman.

Q: ON WHAT EVIDENCE IS THE PROSECUTOR BASING THE CHARGE OF SECOND-DEGREE MURDER?

A: Corey did not disclose how she arrived at the charge, saying that was information to be revealed in court.

Q: WHAT'S NEXT?

A: Zimmerman will appear in court within 24 hours, Corey said.

Q: DOES ZIMMERMAN HAVE LEGAL COUNSEL?

A: Yes, Mark O'Mara of Orlando, who became Zimmerman's new attorney after his former lawyers announced Tuesday that they were dropping the case. They said they couldn't keep representing Zimmerman because he had stopped communicating with them.

Q: HOW WILL ZIMMERMAN PLEAD?

A: Not guilty, O'Mara says.

Q: WHAT HAPPENED?

A: Martin, 17, was shot and killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest Feb. 26 during a confrontation with Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated community of townhomes in Sanford, Fla., about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.

Zimmerman was driving through the neighborhood when he spotted Martin, who was unarmed and walking to the home of his father's fiancee. She lived in the same gated community as Zimmerman.

Martin was returning from a trip to the convenience store with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. It was raining, and Martin was walking with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head. He talked to his girlfriend on a cellphone moments before the shooting, according to Martin's family's attorney.

Q: WHAT IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S SIDE OF THE STORY?

A: On his website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, Zimmerman has described the shooting as "a life altering event" but he says he can't go into details about what happened.

"As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life," he said on the site.

Zimmerman told police he spotted Martin as he was driving through his neighborhood and called 911 to report a suspicious person.

He said the teen had his hand in his waistband and was walking around looking at homes.

There had been several break-ins in the community in the past year, including one in which burglars took a TV and laptops.

A dispatcher told Zimmerman he didn't need to follow Martin after Zimmerman got out of his truck and started pursuing the teen.

Zimmerman told police he lost sight of the teenager and was walking back to his vehicle when he was attacked. He and Martin fought, according to witnesses. Zimmerman said Martin punched him in the nose and slammed his head against the ground.

At some point, Zimmerman pulled a gun and shot Martin.

Police said Zimmerman was bleeding from his nose and the back of his head. He told police he had yelled out for help before he shot Martin.

Q: WHAT IS THE MARTIN FAMILY'S SIDE OF THE STORY?

A: Much of Martin's side of the story comes from a cellphone conversation he had with his girlfriend moments before the shooting. She was interviewed by the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, and he released much of what she said to the news media. She has not been identified.

In the interview, she said Trayvon Martin told her that he was being followed.

"She says: `Run.' He says, `I'm not going to run, I'm just going to walk fast,"' Crump said, quoting the girl.

The girl later heard Martin say, "Why are you following me?" Another man asked, "What are you doing around here?" Crump said.

After Martin encountered Zimmerman, the girl thinks she heard a scuffle "because his voice changes like something interrupted his speech," Crump said. The phone call ended before the girl heard any gunshots.

Martin's parents said their son made the pleas for help that witnesses heard.

Q: WHAT IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND?

A: Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic of Peruvian descent.

Q: WHERE IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN?

A: Zimmerman is in jail in Sanford.

Excerpt from:
Fast Facts: The Zimmerman Case - CBS Miami - CBS News

RUSH: Whos next? Boston. Steve, glad you called. Im glad you waited. Welcome to the program.

CALLER: Hey, Rush, mega dittos. Thanks from the Peoples Republic up here.

RUSH: Thank you very much. Great to have you here.

CALLER: I got a question for you, and I was just wondering: Do you think its possible for this racial divide with the Trayvon thing is originating from the White House? I mean, could that possibly be?

RUSH: Do I think its possible that the racial divide or that the energy, the impetus

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: in the racial divide might be coming from the White House?

CALLER: Yeah, as a political means to divide the parties, just like the

RUSH: What would make you?

CALLER: George Stephanopoulos thing with the birth control.

RUSH: What would make you think that, Steve? What possibly?

CALLER: Well, because we havent had Obama is supposed to be the president. He could calm this whole situation down if he just came on and said, Everybodys gotta cool it. Calm down his minions, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and

RUSH: But he didnt do that.

CALLER: Reverend Wright. Theyre all coming out of the woodwork.

RUSH: But he didnt do that.

CALLER: No.

RUSH: What Obama said was, If I had a son, hed look like Trayvon. And everybody said, So? But that, widely viewed, is stoking it. Then the New Black Panthers came along and offered a bounty, and nobody said anything about that, nobody criticized that. And then yesterday, did you hear about this? Maybe it was this morning, that Eric Holder actually praised Al Sharpton for his work in the Trayvon Martin case. I kid you not. The attorney general called him Reverend Al, and praised Reverend Al for his great work in the Trayvon Martin case.

Look, let me speak bluntly here, Steve. You gotta be very, very careful. This is why you should not try this at home. Leave it to the trained specialist like me. There is no question that this is coming from the White House. There is no question that the White House wants this kind of chaos and unrest in the culture. They, for some reason, have determined that it is helpful for Obamas reelection, because they believe that they can tie all of this to the existence of Republicans and conservatives, that the racial problems exist because of never-ending racism of the right, never-ending racism of Republicans. Thats why George Zimmerman is called in the New York Times a white Hispanic. There are people in the race industry who became excited that this event took place, because it allowed them to carry forward with their template, that we still are a nation, essentially, with slaves.

You couple that with what I think is a chip on Obamas shoulder about the founding of the country, the ingrained discrimination, his anger over it and his opportunity here now to finally make it right. I dont think theres any doubt. I think at least we could say this. If in the White House they wanted to cool this down, which they should do, they could do it. All it would take, as you said, would be Obama addressing the nation, to calm this down, and then speaking about it in genuine American terms, not racial terms. If they wanted to do that, they could. Other presidents have. Its not happening here. I guarantee you, what everybodys waiting on now is for this state attorney and her decision. Its a powder keg waiting to go off. Nobody, that I can see tell me if Im wrong nobody that I see is doing anything to try to make sure that powder keg doesnt explode whenever this decision is reached, cause no matter what the decision is the potential for an eruption is real on either side. I appreciate the call, Steve.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Reverend Sharptons group held their meeting today. They had a convention in Washington, the National Action Network convention, and Eric Holder, the attorney general, was there, and we have a couple of sound bites. Heres the first.

HOLDER: Thank you very much, Reverend Al. I appreciate your kind words, and Im especially grateful for your prayers and for your partnership, your friendship, and also for your tireless efforts to speak out for the voiceless, to stand up for the powerless, and to shine a light on the problems we must solve and the promises, the promises that we must fill.

RUSH: Okay. Heres the author of the Tawana Brawley hoax being held up on a pedestal by the attorney general of the United States, who thanks him for his prayers, his partnership, his friendship, and his tireless efforts to speak out for the voiceless. And the attorney general wasnt finished.

HOLDER: I know that many of you are greatly and rightly concerned about the recent shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Three weeks ago the Department of Justice launched an investigation into this incident, which remains open at this time and prevents me from talking in detail about this matter. However, in recent weeks Justice Department officials, including assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, Tom Perez, have traveled to Sanford, Florida, to meet with the Martin family, the community, and local authorities. The Justice Departments peacemakers are continuing to meet with civil rights leaders, law enforcement officers and area residents to address and to help alleviate community tensions.

RUSH: Justice Department peacemakers? Thats a new one. Justice Department peacemakers. Why didnt he bring in the folks from the UN at the same time? One thing he did, he didnt mention the New Black Panthers. Theyre gonna be ticked. You know, theyre trying to stand up for the voiceless and the powerless and the fearful and the afraid. I know. I know, theyve got a Wanted: Dead or Alive poster. The bounty is still out there from the New Black Panther Party. And the attorney general and his peacemakers from the Department of Justice are on the case in Sanford, Florida, and they made every effort to talk to everybody in this case except I didnt hear him say that he tried to find or reach out to and speak with the Zimmerman family. Speaking of which, Zimmerman, nobody knows where he is. His lawyer last night held a press conference, audio sound bite 13, lets hit it.

SONNER: We want to announce today, as of now were withdrawing as counsel for Mr. Zimmerman. Weve lost contact with him. Up to this point, weve had contact every day. Hes gone on his own. Im not sure what hes doing or who hes talking to, but at this point were withdrawing as counsel. If he wants us to come back as counsel, he will contact us. We had contact as of, I believe, Sunday. In the last couple of days weve lost he has not returned phone calls or text messages or e-mails.

RUSH: Craig Sonner continued. Hes the lawyer.

SONNER: I still believe that he was acting in self-defense that night. Nothing that Ive said about him or this case has changed in any way. I just cant proceed to represent a client who doesnt stay in contact with me.

RUSH: You dont have to tell everybody that. I mean theres still attorney-client privilege here. By that has ticked off Alan Dershowitz at Harvard Law. Weve got the sound bite. I dont have time for it right now, but he says that he is shocked at the behavior of Zimmermans lawyers. But theyre probably scared, too. Theyre human beings. They live in Sanford, Florida, their client is Zimmerman. Youd be a little frightened, too, given all thats going on, the attorney general coming in, holding up and praising Al Sharpton with his peacemakers from the Justice Department. For crying out loud.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: There is breaking news out there, ladies and gentlemen. Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation. It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face, but he will be charged by the special prosecutor Angela Corey, who was appointed by the governor, Rick Scott. She was appointed by the governor. She is a state attorney here in the state of Florida.

She announced yesterday she wasnt going to take the case to the grand jury, which everybody then raced to assume it meant she was going to charge him. If youre not gonna charge him, why put the bulls-eye on your back? You know, let that go to the grand jury. So (interruption) But nobody knows where Zimmerman is to hang him, Snerdley. Snerdley thinks that Zimmerman will be hung this week. Nobody knows where he is. Greetings. By the way, this is a scoop from the Washington Post. The Washington Post is who has this. Its their report. Its up on Drudge now. And just repeating: George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation.

And the blurb is: Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation. It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face. It isnt known. On the same day that Eric Holder goes to the National Action Network and praises Al Sharpton for his great work promoting peace and understanding in the community. And the attorney general referred to the peacekeepers at the Department of Justice who are also investigating this travesty of justice in Sanford, Florida.

By the way, a story here from our local NBC Eyeball News affiliate: Community activist Michelle Williams has been going non-stop, talking or just texting on the phone. The hectic day follows the release of audio where Michelle is heard speaking about the Trayvon Martin case. Williams can be heard saying, Let me tell you something, the things that is about to happen to these honkeys, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these (beep) people, it has been long overdue,' unquote. Michelle Williams is the chief of staff with the local chapter of the New Black Panther Party.

As a community activist, she has also worked very closely with both the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office as well as the Tampa Police Department. Whoever did this report for the local NBC affiliate, Channel 5, said, I have interviewed Michelle in the past on community issues, and truth be told was shocked to hear such harsh words coming from her so I asked to sit down with her to give her the opportunity to respond. Michelle would not deny that it was her on the recording. She did say what I had heard, and what is now all over the radio and internet, is just a short part of a much longer dialogue where her anger was building over the issue.

She explained further, with tears in her eyes. Im angry right now. Im angry that we dont have a Justice Department that says we need to change laws. Im angry that we have a Florida Governor that has not made any real statements about this judicial system. Im tired, John. Im tired. She would go on, Thats not me. Thats not my demeanor. And for something so heart-wrenching that I am watching unfold. I have a 17-year-old son. That could have been my son.' So again to repeat, Let me tell you something, the things that is about to happen to these honkeys, these crackers, these pigs, these pink people, these (beep) people, it has been long overdue.

Shes the chief of staff with a local chapter of the New Black Panther Party, and the local NBC reporter says: Oh, shes been as sweet as pie every time Ive ever talked to her! Shes just sweetness and light. I dont know this side of Michelle!

He really is shocked that somebody with the New Black Panther Party would speak this way. Anyway, so thats that. And as information pours in, we will then pour it back out for you. By the way, the parents of Trayvon Martin were just on MSNBC after speaking at Sharptons National Action Network conference, and they called for everybody to respond peacefully to the special prosecutors announcement. Everybody just be peaceful about this. So if youre just joining, if you are a welfare recipient the kind of person Governor Christie was talking about yesterday and youre just now getting up and turning on the radio, the Washington Post says that the special prosecutor, Angela Corey in Florida, will charge George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. We dont know what the charge will be. Dont know the nature of the charge.

Grab audio sound bite 15. We played the two sound bites of the lawyer for George Zimmerman, who has now withdrawn, who has pulled out, Craig Sonner. He said: We cant find Zimmerman, dont know where he is; were no longer his lawyers until he calls us. Dershowitz from Harvard Law was on Piers Morgan Tonight last night on CNN, and Piers Morgan said, What was your view as a lawyer of what went down today, these lawyers for Zimmerman basically pulling out?

DERSHOWITZ: I was very upset and very disturbed as a criminal defense lawyer and as somebody who teaches professional responsibility to students. The lawyers cant say that we cant reach him, we dont know where he is, he may or may not be available. He cant say that he called the prosecution. All of these things are covered either by lawyer-client privilege or by the secrets that lawyers are supposed to keep of their clients. And theres been no reason why these lawyers should have appeared on television, held press conferences, and disclosed all of this information. All they had to is quietly say, Were no longer representing the defendant. Our role in the case is over.

RUSH: All right. Doesnt mean much, but still, thats the view from Harvard Law on the attorneys for George Zimmerman. But again, nobody knows where Zimmerman is. The lawyers dont know where he is. They say they dont know where he is; they probably dont. The Trayvon Martin family and the New Black Panthers are worried that Zimmerman has fled the country. They are worried he will never be found. They are worried that he will never be found and therefore he will never face justice; it wont happen. Thats what their big fear is, that somebody has helped George Zimmerman to flee the country. Now, if he fled the country, where would he go, Snerdley?

Where do you think he would go? (interruption) Okay, somewhere where white Hispanics could blend in. Well, that would be Brazil, and Brazil also does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, plus a lot of hot supermodels come from Brazil. Not that that would matter in this instance. But they do. And so it could well be that thats where Zimmerman would go if hes left. Nobody knows where he is. Did you ask me, Why would he leave? (laughing) Thats right. Thats right. Why would he leave? Just has a New Black Panther bounty on his head, a Wanted Dead or Alive poster out there that the peacekeepers at the Department of Justice have not seen fit to condemn.

A lot of people, a lot of people calling for riots if hes not arrested. Michelle Williams from the New Black Panther Party is basically talking whats gonna happen to the pink people. Thats right. Obama said, Yeah, yeah, if I had a son hed look like Trayvon, essentially saying, My son would have been killed. Yeah, Zimmerman, it might have occurred to him that hes not safe. You never know.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: TIME Magazine just tweeted the following. TIME Magazine. Heres the tweet: George Zimmerman had more leeway to shoot Trayvon Martin than a US soldier has to shoot insurgents. Now, what does that mean? George Zimmerman had more leeway to shoot Trayvon Martin than a US soldier has to shoot insurgents. TIME is being purely political and snarky here, but what it probably means is that the rules of engagement and they were going to give medals for courageous restraint in Afghanistan, where our soldiers purposely didnt pull the trigger against the enemy if there was the slightest possibility a civilian casualty would occur. They were thinking of medals for this. Courageous restraint. So what, America is more lawless than war? Shooters in America have more leeway than soldiers in a war? And what is the implication? What a rotten country we are? I mean thats the natural inference from me, given the tweet.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Maybe thats it. Maybe what TIME Magazine is saying with that idiotic tweet of theirs is that if a US soldier in Iraq had shot a terrorist in the way Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, it would have been immediately investigated. Thats probably right. TIME is probably among the legions ticked off that there werent immediate charges against Zimmerman and an immediate conviction and an immediate carrying out of the death sentence. But if a soldier had done this in Iraq, why, hed be investigated and court-martialed and strung up already. No doubt thats what TIME Magazine meant.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Nah, the announcement, of the charges against Zimmerman is at 6 p.m. Beyond that, well have to wait and see.

Read more from the original source:
Eric Holder Praises Reverend Al Sharpton; Reports Say Zimmerman to be ...