Report: Justice Department May Shutdown Zimmerman Civil Rights Investigation . . . quietly

When the Obama Administration sent in a team to investigate civil rights violations in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, some of us expressed doubt over the basis for such a charge as well as the timing of the federal move into the case. Indeed, I was highly skeptical of how the case was charged and prosecuted. Now the Washington Post is reporting that, after two years of investigation, Justice officials do not believe that they have sufficient evidence to bring federal charges.

George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in a state trial in Sanford, Fla., last year. Various community and political leaders demanded that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. bring a federal civil rights case against him. The protests led to considerable pressure for the Obama Administration to act and the investigation by the Civil Rights Section helped quell some of the discontent over the verdict. However, the case remained weak for both a second-degree murder case as well as a civil rights charge. While many read racist motivations behind Zimmerman motives, Zimmerman succeeded in establishing that he was acting in self-defense.

The Administration has also taken the same quick response to the shooting in Ferguson, though that investigation is centering on the police department as a whole.

Source: Washington Post