trayvon martin

George Zimmerman Will Not Face Federal Civil-Rights Charges for Trayvon Martin’s Death

George Zimmerman walks out of the Seminole County Jail after a first appearance at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. Zimmerman was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon in an incident where he allegedly threw a wine bottle.
Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images

Federal prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to file federal civil-rights charges against George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.

The Justice Department is still conducting civil-rights investigations in Ferguson, Missouri — examining broader accusations of racial discrimination by the local police department after a police officer killed teenager Michael Brown — and in Staten Island, New York, where a police officer killed Eric Garner. Attorney General Eric Holder — who has named civil rights as the biggest focus of his tenure — is set to retire as soon as the Senate approves a new head for the Justice Department.

No Federal Charges Against George Zimmerman