NAACP Demands DOJ Pursue Civil Rights Charges Against Zimmerman

NAACP Demands DOJ Pursue Civil Rights Charges Against Zimmerman

on Sun, 14 Jul 2013

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), determined to punish George Zimmerman after his acquittal from murder charges in the Trayvon Martin case, isdemanding that the Justice Department initiate civil rights charges against Zimmerman. The NAACP’s Twitter site stated, “BREAKING: Zimmerman acquitted on all charges. We will update you as we work to pursue civil rights charges against Zimmerman through the DOJ.”

The NAACP released another tweet with a petition that pushed for the DOJ to “open a civil rights case against George Zimmerman.”

The petition read:

Attorney General Eric Holder. The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida’s prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began. Today, with the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it is time for the Department of Justice to act. The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin. We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation. Please address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.

The head of the NAACP, Benjamin Jealous, is a huge fan of Attorney General Eric Holder and the feeling is mutual. Jealous wrote an op-ed for The Hill on June 17 titled “Attack on Holder is Attack on Civil Rights” that lauded Holder in this fashion:

Holder is among the finest attorneys general to ever serve this nation. But over the past four-plus years, he has faced one baseless allegation after another. We cannot fully know what motivates his detractors, but many seem to be obsessed by a coarse desire to politically damage the pro-civil-rights priorities set by his Department of Justice and the Obama administration. Efforts to assassinate his character and drive him from office represent more than a cynical campaign against a dedicated public servant; they are also an indirect attack on the civil and human rights of all Americans.

The attacks Jealous referenced in his op-ed were never delineated in the editorial.

Jealous continued:

Just this month, he delivered remarks at the Medgar Evers Memorial Commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery. The attorney general’s very presence was a reaffirmation of the legacy of the civil rights hero. Just as Evers’s actions laid the foundation for so much of the civil rights progress in our nation, Holder is carrying the mantle of civil rights protection forward. The NAACP is most proud to have his back.

At the Medgar Evers Memorial Commemoration on June 5, Holder had praised Jealous, saying,  “And it’s a privilege to join so many good friends, distinguished guests, and indispensable civil rights leaders – including the NAACP’s President, Ben Jealous.”