George Zimmerman, the former Florida neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, is suing the victim's family, prosecutors, and the media for $100 million in damages.
Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering Martin in 2013.
"Imagine killing an unarmed child and then suing his parents," tweeted Center for Policing Equity president Phillip Atiba Goff.
The lawsuit, which Zimmerman's lawyer Larry Klayman—a right-wing legal advocate—filed in Polk County Circuit Court in Florida Wednesday names Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, as the lead defendant. Fulton is running for Congress in Florida's District 1.
According to the Miami Herald:
The suit in Polk County Circuit Court cites information in a documentary about the case that accuses the Martin family of engineering false testimony, and the director has scheduled a press conference this week in Coral Gables to coincide with a film screening there. The suit seeks $100 million in civil damages, alleging defamation, abuse of civil process and conspiracy. A copy of the suit was distributed to media Wednesday by the movies’ director, Joe Gilbert. The case does not yet appear on the online docket of the Polk court system.
Zimmerman, Klayman, and Gilbert will host a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Coral Gables Art Cinema.
Documentary filmmaker Billy Corben said in a tweet he was outraged at the cinema's involvement in what he called a "disgraceful sham."
Shame on @gablescinema for hosting this disgraceful sham: George Zimmerman announces lawsuit against family of Trayvon Martin, publisher, prosecutors for $100 million with press conference and documentary screening at Coral Gables Art Cinema https://t.co/R2hOIjoVoN @mike23mena pic.twitter.com/V8LkdegSWC
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) December 4, 2019
New York State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou couldn't believe what she was reading.
"This killer wants to do what?!" said Niou.
