George Zimmerman filed a lawsuit in Florida on Tuesday (Feb. 18) against Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren for defamation due to tweets they sent out on Trayvon Martin's birthday (Feb. 5). He is alleging that the Democratic presidential candidates were "maliciously publishing false and misleading" information about the case in order to "garner votes in the black community." He is seeking $265 million "for loss of good will and reputation."
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While Zimmerman was not explicitly mentioned in the tweets, both Buttigieg and Warren framed Martin's murder as a result of white supremacy and gun violence. These qualifiers obviously go against Zimmerman's contention that he acted in self-defense when shooting the unarmed 17-year-old in 2012. "Defendant Warren's use of the word 'racism' as having caused the death of Trayvon Martin is a smear that disparages and defames Zimmerman, a man who is Hispanic, a minority advocate, and an Obama supporter," the lawsuit states. "...Defendant Warren knows that as established in the 2013 trial and in the media, that Zimmerman fired a single shot only because he believed he might go unconscious and die."
Warren's tweet reads: "My heart goes out to [Martin's mother] @SybrinaFulton and Trayvon's family and friends. He should still be with us today. 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." Buttigieg's tweet reads: "Trayvon Martin would have been 25 today. How many 25th birthdays have been stolen from us by white supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?"
According to CBSN legal contributor Keir Dougall, Zimmerman will have a tough time winning his case against the presidential candidates since their tweets will likely fall into the category of political speech. "The First Amendment would be at its strongest in protecting this particular type of speech," Dougall said.
Since Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted, he believes he has grounds to sue whoever continues to refer to the murder of Trayvon Martin as an act of racism. Back in December, he also filed a lawsuit against Martin's family, their prosecutors, a publishing company and law enforcement officials for promoting what he claims to be a false narrative. Ben Crump, a defendant in that lawsuit commented at the time, “The 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.”
Boosie Badazz Denies Report That He Beat Up George Zimmerman At Walmart
The rapper stated it was a flat out lie.
In “How did this rumor even get started?” news, Boosie Badazz has taken to his social media to clear up false reports. On Tuesday, somehow, news began to circulate that the rapper ran into George Zimmerman and was engaged in a physical altercation. A report stated that it all went down at a Walmart parking lot in Miami when Boosie recognized Zimmerman as the “fat ass n*gga who killed Trayvon.” Zimmerman allegedly reached for a weapon before Boosie beat him so badly that Zimmerman was hospitalized. Supposedly.
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Social media picked up on the news and ran with it, and soon, Bossie was being hailed for assaulting the infamous killer. However, the rapper made a video stating that he was not involved in an incident with Zimmerman. “Aye, service announcement from Boosie,” the rapper began. “I never seen George in my life but on TV. This is a lie. Leave me alone. I never seen George Zimmerman in my life. George don’t know me.”
“Talkin’ ’bout I did something to him in Walmart,” Boosie continued. “That is a lie.” He then used the opportunity to plug his noodles that apparently “drop at Walmart Friday.” We guess you should keep an eye out for that. Meanwhile, Zimmerman continues to live his life as a controversial figure following his acquittal for the shooting death of 17-year-old high school student Trayvon Martin.
Trayvon was visiting his relatives when he left their home to walk to a nearby market to pick up a few items. While returning, Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator, spotted Trayvon and believed he was a menace. He called the local authorities, stalked Trayvon, chased the scared teen, got into a physical altercation with him, and then shot him. He’s been arrested on multiple occasions for unrelated crimes since the 2012 attack.
