Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday that no federal civil rights charges would be brought against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting in February 2012 of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
In an anti-climactic but widely expected move, Holder said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the 31-year-old Zimmerman for the shooting that shattered a family and ignited a national debate.
“A comprehensive investigation found that the high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution cannot be met under the circumstances here,” Holder said in a statement.
At the same time, following a meeting Tuesday in Miami between Justice Department officials and members of Martin’s family, Holder said Martin’s “premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface.”
In a statement released through the office of attorney Benjamin L. Crump, Martin family members said they were disappointed in the findings but also thankful for the Justice Department’s “extensive and thorough investigation.”
“We remain poised to do everything in our power to help eradicate senseless violence in our communities, because we don't want any other parents to experience the unexplainable loss we have endured,” the family said.
Holder’s long-awaited announcement came as he’s clearing the decks for his designated successor, Loretta Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who’s awaiting Senate confirmation.
Before he leaves office, Holder is also likely to announce a decision on whether former Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson will face federal charges for the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. As with Martin’s shooting, few legal experts expect that federal charges will be brought.
In what might be a coordinated move, Holder will also be announcing the results of a broader investigation into a “pattern or practice” of unconstitutional behavior by the Ferguson Police Department.
“I’m satisfied with the progress that we have made, and also I’m comfortable saying that I’m going to be able to make those calls before I leave office,” Holder said at the National Press Club last week, adding he was “confident that people will be satisfied with the results that we announce.”
Zimmerman, a community watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin on the night of Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman said he shot in self-defense. The shooting prompted marches, rallies and demonstrations nationwide, and provoked heartfelt commentary by politicians of all ranks.
“If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon,” President Barack Obama said at the time.
Federal civil rights prosecutors and FBI agents began an independent investigation, separate from the state of Florida’s. The federal investigators halted their active work once Zimmerman was put on trial in state court, then resumed their investigation after his July 13, 2013, acquittal on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
According to the Justice Department, federal investigators conducted 75 witness interviews, hired a “biomechanical expert” to assess Zimmerman’s actions and reviewed “witness statements, crime scene evidence, cellphone data, ballistics reports, reconstruction analysis, medical and autopsy reports, depositions and the trial record.”
Federal prosecutors, facing a high legal hurdle to prove civil rights violations, examined questions including whether Zimmerman had approached Martin in a threatening manner before the shooting because of Martin’s race.
Investigators also examined whether Zimmerman had used force against Martin because of Martin’s race.
“Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin, and is based solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who oversees the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
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