Mediaboss Marketing

George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Florida, neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and his lawyer have filed a $100 million lawsuit against prosecutors, Martin's family, their attorney and a book publisher over allegations that one of the trial's key witnesses was "an imposter."

Zimmerman's civil attorney Larry Klayman filed the multi-million lawsuit in Polk County Circuit Court in Florida.

Klayman alleges in the 36-page lawsuit, where Zimmerman is the sole plaintiff, that Martin's parents Sybrina Ford and Tracy Martin as well as their attorney Ben Crump falsely inserted Rachel Jeantel into the case after the Sanford Police Department closed the investigation in March 2012 as "self-defense."

In this April 3, 2019, file photo, Sybrina Fulton participates in a panel at the National Action Network Convention in New York.

The lawsuit claims then 18-year-old Jeantel was "an imposter and fake witness" and the catalyst to get Zimmerman arrested and charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was cleared of all charges after the weeks-long televised trial.

"Defendants, each and every one of them, as individuals and through their employment and agencies, have worked in concert to deprive Zimmerman of his constitutional and other related legal rights," according to the lawsuit.

Trayvon Martin was walking back to his father's house on Feb. 26, 2012, after purchasing Skittles and a beverage from a nearby 7-Eleven. The now 36-year-old Zimmerman, who is half white and Hispanic, testified at the murder trial that he was suspicious of 17-year-old Martin, who was walking in the Twin Lakes community wearing a hoodie and talking on a cellphone. Trayvon Martin was unarmed.

Jeantel testified during the June 2013 trial that she was on the phone with Trayvon Martin and he "complained" that "a man looked creepy" was watching him.

In this March 23, 2012, file photo, Jayve Montgomery holds up an electronic picture of Trayvon Martin on an iPad during a march and rally in Chicago in support of the 17-year-old's family.

Klayman, who founded the nonprofit watchdog organization Judicial Watch, alleges that Jeantel's half-sister Brittany Diamond Eugene was actually on the phone with Martin during the deadly encounter and later "coached" Jeantel on how to testify, according to the lawsuit. He said these allegations partly stem from newly discovered evidence in the upcoming film "The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America" from director Joel Gilbert.

Eugene's lawyer, Rod Vereen, vehemently denies the claims that she acted in concert to coerce Jeantel to act as a stand-in witness.

She doesnt know Trayvon Martin. She doesnt know Rachel Jeantel. Shes not the half-sister. She knows nothing about this case at all. She didnt write any letters. She didnt do anything, Vereen told ABC News.

Crump responded to the lawsuit in a statement, saying, "This tale defies all logic, and its time to close the door on these baseless imaginings. This plaintiff continues to display a callous disregard for everyone but himself, revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions. He would have us believe that he is the innocent victim of a deep conspiracy, despite the complete lack of any credible evidence to support his outlandish claims."

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

Vereen is warning Klayman to retract the lawsuit within the state's allotted time frame of 21 days or face further legal actions.

"Hes going to find himself being disbarred. The Florida Bar doesnt take too well to frivolous lawsuits that throws peoples lives into disarray," said Vereen. "I would urge that lawyer to do his due diligence and take our pleadings seriously because there will be no backtracking or crawfishing once we file."

Tracy Martin attends the Trayvon Martin 4th Annual Day Of Remembrance and Peace Walk in Miami Gardens, Fla., Feb. 6, 2016.

George Zimmerman waits for his defense counsel to arrive in Seminole circuit court, on the 11th day of his murder trial in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, June 24, 2013 in Sanford, Fla.

Other named defendants in the lawsuit include Eugene, current and former Florida prosecutors Bernie de la Rionda, John Guy, Angela Corey, The State of Florida and Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Klayman alleges that all parties "either have known about or should have known about the witness fraud, obstructed justice, or lied repeatedly under oath in order to cover up their knowledge of the witness fraud."

HarperCollins Publishers LLC was also named as a defendant for publishing Crump's book in October 2019 with defamatory claims against Zimmerman, according to the lawsuit.

FDLE has not been served the lawsuit, a spokesperson told ABC News. Request for comment from the other defendants were not immediately returned.

The Florida Bar criticized Klayman for posting the lawsuit on his website without redacting the addresses of the defendants and other charges, according to the complaint obtained by ABC News. Klayman has not returned ABC News' request for comment.

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who sparked a national uproar by shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager to death, is pictured in this Seminole County, Florida, Sheriff's Office booking photograph taken on April 11, 2012.

Since Zimmerman's acquittal, he has attempted to sell the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin, sold confederate artwork to raise money for a supposed "Muslim free gun store" and pleaded no contest for threatening and harassing a private investigator who reached out to him to see if he would participate in a film about the 2012 shooting.

Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, became a prominent member of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of her sons death and has said that her sons memory lives on as part of the movement along with that of several unarmed black people who were killed by law enforcement.

View post:
George Zimmerman files $100M lawsuit against Trayvon Martin's ...

George Zimmerman, who in 2013 was acquitted of charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, is suing Martin's family and others for $100 million, theMiami Herald reports.

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, is the lead defendant in Zimmerman's lawsuit filed in Polk County Circuit Court. Also being sued are the former prosecutors in the previous Zimmerman case, and Harper Collins, which published a book written by Ben Crump, the attorney who represented Martin's family.

Prosecutors during the 2013 trial said that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was not justified in shooting and killing the unarmed black teenager, while Zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense. Thejury found himnot guilty of second-degree murder.

Zimmerman's new lawsuit, the Herald reports, cites "information in a documentary about the case that accuses the Martin family of engineering false testimony." He's reportedly seeking $100 million in civil damages and alleging defamation, abuse of civil process, and conspiracy.

Crumpin a statementdescribed the lawsuit as "reckless" and "another failed attempt to defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others."

More stories from theweek.comRudy Giuliani is literally in Ukraine right nowTrump's pathological obsession with being laughed atImpeachment witness Pamela Karlan unloads on GOP Rep. Doug Collins in opening statement: 'I'm insulted'

Read more from the original source:
George Zimmerman is suing Trayvon Martin's family

George Zimmerman has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Trayvon Martins family six years after he was acquitted of killing the unarmed black teen in Florida.

The former neighborhood watch volunteer accuses Trayvons mother, prosecutors and others of conspiring to concoct a false narrative through imposter and fake witness Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with the teen just before he was shot.

The complaint, filed Tuesday in Polk County court in Florida where Zimmerman lives, also cites the documentary The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America, which makes similar accusations against the Martin family.

Because of the arrest, charges, prosecution and federal investigation, Zimmerman lives in constant fear of physical harm due to regular death threats, which often are expressed in rap music as well as online social media commentary, the suit says.

Zimmerman was charged with murder after fatally shooting Trayvon, 17, in Sanford, Florida, in February 2012. A jury acquitted him a year later, buying into his claim that he fired in self-defense after the teen attacked him.

Prosecutors maintained that the shooting was unjustified that Travyon was unarmed and carrying a drink and Skittles when he was gunned down.

Zimmermans suit lists Trayvons mother, Sybrina Fulton, as one of the many defendants. Fulton, who was thrust into the national spotlight following her sons death, is running for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.

He is also suing Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented the Martin family, for defamation and book publisher HarperCollins for releasing Crumps book Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People.

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

Zimmerman is represented by Larry Klayman, founder of conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Go here to see the original:
George Zimmerman files lawsuit against Trayvon Martin family

"This tale defies logic," Trayvon Martin's family said on Wednesday after George Zimmerman filed a lawsuit against the family. Sybrina Fulton, mother of Martin, is seen here delivering a speech in 2017. Paras Griffin/Getty Images hide caption

"This tale defies logic," Trayvon Martin's family said on Wednesday after George Zimmerman filed a lawsuit against the family. Sybrina Fulton, mother of Martin, is seen here delivering a speech in 2017.

George Zimmerman is suing the family of the teenager he shot nearly eight years ago, seeking more than $100 million from Trayvon Martin's parents, their attorney and others. Zimmerman claims he was the victim of a conspiracy, along with malicious prosecution and defamation.

Martin's family has responded with a statement saying there's no evidence to back Zimmerman's contentions that he was the victim of a conspiracy.

Zimmerman was acquitted on all charges related to his shooting of Martin, who was 17 and unarmed when Zimmerman shot and killed him in a gated Florida community where Martin's father lived. Zimmerman claimed he shot Martin in self-defense during a scuffle. Zimmerman had faced charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the case, which also shed light on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

Zimmerman and his lawyer, the controversial attorney Larry Klayman, allege that Rachel Jeantel, a key witness for the prosecution who testified about being on the phone with Martin just before the shooting, was an impostor. They accuse her of standing in for another teenager, Brittany Diamond Eugene, whom the suit describes as Jeantel's half sister who did not want to testify in the case.

In the lawsuit filed in Florida state court, Zimmerman and Klayman allege defamation by Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump. Their suit also names Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, along with Jeantel and Eugene. Also included: several Florida prosecutors, the state of Florida and its law enforcement department and HarperCollins, which recently published Open Season, Crump's book about violence toward black people.

Responding to the lawsuit, Crump's office released a joint statement in which the attorney and Martin's parents said:

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

Accusing Zimmerman of "revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions," Crump, Fulton and Martin said there is no credible proof to back Zimmerman's claims.

"This tale defies logic," they said, "and it's time to close the door on these baseless imaginings."

Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch whose other clients include the conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, made headlines this year when a legal ethics panel recommended that he be suspended for misconduct regarding his actions toward a female client who had refused to enter into a romantic relationship with him.

As he unveiled Zimmerman's new lawsuit on Wednesday, Klayman said he would hold a news conference about the case on Thursday. That session will be held at a movie theater; Klayman is inviting journalists to view a new documentary about the Martin case that centers on the lawsuit's allegations.

Read more:
George Zimmerman Sues Trayvon Martin's Family For More Than ...

George Zimmerman has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the family of Trayvon Martin, one of their lawyers Ben Crump, several prosecutors, a book publisher and more for malicious prosecution, defamation, conspiracy, and abuse of process. Zimmerman was previously acquitted on homicide charges in 2013 for the fatal shooting of Martin; he claimed he was acting in self-defense.

Zimmerman is being represented by Larry Klayman, a conservative attorney who founded the right-wing activist group Judicial Watch. The suit accuses the various defendants of violating Zimmermans constitutional rights and claims it is based on facts recently discovered in a new book and film called The Trayvon Hoax, by Joel Gilbert, a noted conspiracy theorist whos pushed unfounded claims about Barack Obama, Paul McCartney, and Elvis, and appeared regularly on Alex Jones InfoWars.

Pulling from the book, the suit alleges that Martins mother and father, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, as well as Crump and several Florida prosecutors pushed a false narrative about the night that Martin was killed.Specifically, it alleges that witness Rachel Jeantel lied about being on the phone with Martin when the incident took place and that she provided false statements to incriminate Zimmerman based on coaching from others.

The suit goes on to claim that it wasnt Jeantel on the phone with Martin that night, but rather a Miami resident named Brittany Diamond Eugene who was switched out for Jeantel when Eugene refused to bear false witness against Zimmerman.

The suit also accuses Crump of making false statements about Zimmerman in his new book, Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People. It alleges that because of Crumps ties to the the Martin case, the title of the book is reasonably understood to refer to Zimmerman, creating the false implication that [Zimerman] participated and participates in the genocide of colored people. It also takes semantic issues with a line in the book that states law enforcement told Zimmerman not to pursue Martin and stand down until police arrived, but he did so nevertheless. For one, the suit alleges Zimmerman was not talking to a law enforcement officer but a non-emergency dispatcher, while it also cites a record of the call that says Zimmerman responded okay when asked not to pursue Martin.

The lawsuit claims Crump made this claims and HarperCollins published them with actual malice in order to sell books and justify its absurd, inflammatory, racial charged book title that suggested Plaintiff Zimmerman was at the forefront of this genocide.

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

Klayman did not immediately return Rolling Stones request for comment.

View post:
George Zimmerman Sues Trayvon Martin's Family for $100 ...