George Zimmerman, the former Florida neighborhood watch member who shot and killed unarmed Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, is reportedly suing 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Newsweek reports Zimmerman is claiming Buttigieg and Warren defamed him in tweets on Feb. 5, which would have been Martin’s 25th birthday.
Warren, in a tweet, wrote that Martin should “still be with us today,” adding “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 tweeted similarly, marking Martin’s 25th birthday by adding: “How may 25th birthdays have been stolen from us by white supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?”
Zimmerman is seeking $265 million in damages, according to USA Today.
Salon notes that the suit says Buttigieg defamed him by linking him to “white supremacy” and that Warren did so by linking him to “racism.”
Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting and killing of Martin.
Zimmerman’s suit against the 2020 hopefuls comes just a few months after he sued Martin’s family for $100 million.
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