One detail about the end of George Zimmerman’s murder trial that particularly galled people (aside from the verdict) was the fact the Sanford Police Department was willing to return the weapon that fired the round that ended Trayvon Martin’s life. But as of Thursday that’s no longer the case. The FBI has requested the department put a hold on all evidence in the case, including the 9-mm semiautomatic, and the Sanford PD said it was complying. As the Orlando Sentinel and others have pointed out, that’s a pretty clear sign the Justice Department is going ahead with a civil rights investigation into Zimmerman. The DOJ has opened a tip line in that investigation, and the evidence from Zimmerman’s state case will now stay on hold until the feds are done with it. So as to the question of what’s next for George Zimmerman, it looks like we have at least a partial answer.
