Despite being acquitted of all charges in connection with his murder of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman is seeking compensation for defamation and malicious prosecution. Zimmernan, the Florida neighborhood watchman who shot and killed 17-year-old Martin in 2012, is suing Martin's family, prosecutors, a publishing company and a law enforcement agency for allegedly constructing a false narrative about him. Zimmerman is being represented by Larry Klayman, who founded the right-wing activist group Judicial Watch in 1994.
Zimmerman walked free after claiming self-defense when killing Martin, who was unarmed and walking home from a convenience store at the time. Zimmerman's lawsuit is claiming that several parties “have worked in concert to deprive Zimmerman of his constitutional and other related legal rights." These same allegations are espoused in Joel Gilbert's book and film titled The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America. A screening of the film was planned to coincide with the announcement of the lawsuit, but the Coral Gables Art Cinema pulled out after receiving complaints and learning the nature of the film.
Zimmerman is suing the publishing company Harper Collins, which published Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People in October. The book written by Ben Crump, the attorney who represented Martin’s family, is being accused by Zimmerman of spreading false information about Martin's murder.
“The plaintiff continues to display a callous disregard for everyone but himself, revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions,” Crump, who is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, wrote in a statement. “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.”