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(Image: Univision screenshot)
Some people just have nothing to do with their time. George Zimmerman has filed a lawsuit against Democratic presidential hopefuls Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren, according to NBC News.
Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in a case that gained national attention in 2012, is suing the Democratic presidential candidates for $265 million claiming defamation based on the tweets (shown below) they sent out in remembrance of Martin. The tweets were sent out on what would have been Martin’s 25th birthday.
Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 for the murder of Martin, who was unarmed, as he used the “Stand Your Ground” defense claiming he was attacked by the young teen in his neighborhood.
Trayvon Martin would have been 25 today.
How many 25th birthdays have been stolen from us by white supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?#BlackLivesMatter
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 5, 2020
My heart goes out to @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. https://t.co/9lXXlRnvzL
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 6, 2020
Zimmerman’s attorney, Larry Klayman, stated in the legal filing that he emailed the campaigns of both the Indiana mayor and the Massachusetts senator on Feb. 10 demanding they take the posts down and neither candidate did.
According to the complaint lodged against the candidates, “Plaintiff George Zimmerman (“Zimmerman”) brings this action against Pete Buttigieg (“Buttigieg”) and Elizabeth Warren (“Warren”) in their individual capacities for defamation with actual malice or at a minimum a reckless disregard for the truth. Both Defendant Buttigieg and Defendant Warren individually defamed and disparaged Plaintiff Zimmerman in separate postings on their Twitter accounts on February 5, 2020. Defendant Buttigieg and Defendant Warren defamed Zimmerman for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman’s expense.”
“It is high time that the cheap and harmful use of the race card by politicians of all stripes be made to cease and desist. Their despicable ‘race tactics’ are not only causing great harm to persons such as my client George Zimmerman but also are damaging relations between black and white Americans who are all brothers,” says Klayman in a statement on his website.
“The nation should applaud Mr. Zimmerman for taking a strong stand and pushing back against hack politicians like Buttigieg and Warren, who know no bounds of decency and frankly could obviously care less about whom they hurt in their quest to dishonesty use and manipulate black voters to win the 2020 Democrat presidential primary.”
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