Al Sharpton Pushes For Civil Rights Charges Against Zimmerman: Trayvon Had The ‘Civil Right To Go Home’
Frustrated by a Florida jury’s decision to acquit George Zimmerman of all charges relating to the 2012 murder of Tryavon Martin, MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton told Today’s Savannah Guthrie on Monday that he is prepared to lobby the federal government to charge Zimmerman with a violation of Martin’s civil rights. “Trayvon Martin had the civil right to go home,” Sharpton said.
Sharpton confessed to Guthrie that he was disappointed by the verdict against Zimmerman, but he was not surprised. “You have to remember, we had to fight and demonstrate to even get a trial,” he recalled.
Sharpton said that his network and Martin family attorney, Ben Crump, began the process of pursuing civil rights claims against Zimmerman before the trial even began.
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“Trayvon Martin had the civil right to go home, and in 100 cities this Saturday there will be demonstrations in front of federal buildings led by ministers pressing the federal government to protect our right,” Sharpton warned.
NBC legal analyst Lisa Bloom said that the federal government will have to show that the charges of civil rights violations are “substantially different” from the crime of which he was acquitted. She noted that this was possible because the prosecution did not focus on the racial element of the case during proceedings.
Guthrie asked Sharpton if the prosecution missed an opportunity by not making the case “explicitly” about racial discrimination. “I think they did,” Sharpton agreed, “but it also sets up a federal case, because you can’t say it’s been tried because it wasn’t tried.”
“I can tell you this is long from being over, and we’re going to be with them every step of the way because this puts every child at risk,” Sharpton concluded. “Any child can be interfered with going home for committing no crime. That’s the bottom line here that must be answered.”
Watch the clip below via NBC:
