A Florida judge has dismissed George Zimmerman’s defamation and conspiracy lawsuit against Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of Trayvon Martin. Martin was a 17-year old, Black child Zimmerman shot and killed almost a decade ago.
Judge John Cooper wrote in his order that Zimmerman didn’t display “any fraudulent representation” and it would be pointless to pursue the case any further. Cooper wrote, “There can be no claim for conspiracy to defraud if there is no adequately stated claim for fraud.”
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Zimmerman filed his lawsuit against Trayvon’s parents and their lawyer Ben Crump, back in 2019. At the time, he was accusing them of trying to “destroy his good will and reputation in the community.” He believed the parents were painting him as a racist murderer that purposefully profiled Trayvon and overstepped his boundaries as a community watch volunteer. Zimmerman also included Brittany Diamond Eugene and Rachel Jeantel in the suit. The lawsuit argues that Jeantel pretended to be on the phone with Martin when he encountered Zimmerman but it was actually her half-sister Eugene that was on the phone.
HarperCollins Publishers was also named in Zimmerman’s suit for publishing the book, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin. Written by his parents, the book details their son’s life, his death, and the movement that followed.
Zimmerman was acquitted for the death of Martin after being charged with second-degree murder. The man claimed that he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Martin in 2012 in Sanford, Florida.
[Via]