The Justice Department will not bring federal charges against George Zimmerman, the 31-year-old Florida man who was tried and found not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the New York Times reports.
Federal prosecutors found that they did not have “sufficient evidence” to prove that Zimmerman “intentionally violated Martin’s civil rights,” sources told ABC News.
Trayvon’s death sparked a nationwide outcry against vigilantes and law-enforcement officers who many believe use deadly force when dealing with African-American men and boys. After Zimmerman was found not guilty by a Florida jury in 2013, the Justice Department vowed to staff its separate federal investigation with “experienced federal prosecutors” to determine whether Trayvon’s civil rights were violated during the incident, the ABC report explained.
Attorney General Eric Holder gave an update about the federal investigation a couple of months ago, saying that Justice officials were looking to interview additional witnesses as a result of certain developments, but Tuesday the public learned that that chapter is closed.
Holder, who announced in September that he would be resigning, promised that the Justice Department would announce whether it would bring charges against Zimmerman before his successor took office, ABC News reports. Holder said that the Justice Department will release “as much information” as possible detailing its investigation.
Read more at the New York Times and ABC News.