Iama close relative of George Zimmerman. I was with George directly before the shooting, and with his wife when he called and told us what had happened. AMA

No question, but would like to tell you that at first I was thinking that it was cold blooded murder and he should fry. but after looking at the evidence I truly believed George acted in self defense. It also has me re-examining my plan on defense.

Thank you for keeping an open mind!

Verified, OP is a close relative.

If I may ask, how was this verified? Not asking because I don't believe it or anything, just curious about how he would prove it.

Pictures of me and George, with I.D.

I can't help but feel that you are soon going to regret doing this AMA.

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I am ashamed of myself.

Death would not be a regret for me.

what..? are you depressed?

No, he is just very metal.

Thank you, /u/OdinDog. May Amon Amarth be with you.

Nah maann you're Black_Metal, so Immortal be with you.

I was using Amon Amarth because they reference Odin a lot. Personally, if it was black metal bands, I would have used "Immanifest be with you."

This AMA won't kill you.

...Right?

One can only hope.

I just hope you and your family are safe, regardless of whatever happened, of who is guilty or not, you shouldn't suffer consequences.

Thank you!

Do you believe Gerorge's account of what happened?

Absolutely. I stand by George 100%. Before all this happened, NOBODY who knew George thought this would happen to him. He was just that nice, nobody suspected him ever having to use his gun. I wish I could say he has kept that kindness since the incident, but that would be a lie. However, what he was struggling with was immense, I wouldn't expect him to not be changed after taking a life. It's very sad, he used to be the happiest and nicest guy in the world, now...

How has he been acting now? Depressed? Angry?

Depressed, for the past year. Like a spark has gone out in his eye. He also is definitely not the happy, kind and jovial type person he used to be.

I don't think a person who was told by police to not follow a guy, follows him anyway, then ends up shooting him, should be called innocent. He should pay for what he's done. Someday soon, he'll get what's coming to him. I'm sure there's a lot of angry people right now.

If that is your viewpoint, that's okay. I will ask you to consider, however, why Trayvon didn't simply run back to his house? George is not a fast or athletic man. There was 4 minutes where Trayvon could have easily escaped, but he didn't, because he confronted George. As for George following Trayvon, I've had to tell everybody this. When they asked him to stop, he did. He was between houses and was looking for an address to tell the police where to go, he was not following Trayvon anymore.

Why does he have to get out of the car to get an address? Between houses? I don't understand.

He was following when the dispatcher told him to stop. He then stopped following Trayvon, and looked for an address to give to the dispatcher.

What was your initial reaction when George called you after the incident?

George did not call me, he called Shellie. So, when her face changed and she repeated what George said, it took quite a few seconds to kick in. I've already answered this kind of, but my initial reaction was shock. Then, later, disgust as I watched the media turn this into their own little game for views. To me, it felt like the "two minutes of hate" in 1984, almost.

What can you tell us that we haven't heard from the media? Are you also the relative of the cousin that claimed she was molested by Zimmerman? Can you elaborate?

Nobody was molested by George, that was such a twisted move someone played. As far as what hasn't been heard in the media...to be honest, there was A LOT at first, the way the media spun the whole thing. But now, just about everything is out. There are some things I knew about that wouldn't be mentioned in court, like the fact that George mentored a black kid twice a week for a year, and he was also one of the only people to stand up for a homeless black man who was beaten up by the police chiefs son. Basically, there was a lot of stuff to prove he wasn't racist, but the media didn't cover it and the court didn't care. I'll try to think of more things that aren't well known and comment back here if I do.

Edit: Just remembered, I do know that the first time Trayvon's dead heard the 911 tapes, he said that wasn't Trayvon's voice yelling for help, but then changed his mind and said it was.

What do you think of the fact that the Martins won $1,000,000 from the Home Owners Association, have trademarked Trayvon's name and image, etc? There are many reports about the money the family has received - how does that sit with you?

Honestly, the trademarking seemed in poor taste. But, I'm not in the Martin's shoes and try to stay away from judging them after losing their kid.

What is your opinion on the racial tension caused by the case?

I think what the media has done is spin it for more views (obviously). I've posted about George mentoring and sticking up for black people, specifically a teenager and a homeless black man, and he's been a victim of racism before. He most definitely isn't racist. As for the national scale, I believe when everyone stops bringing race into everything we can have equality. Why didn't the guy shot in the back and killed in Atlanta get on national television? Because he was killed by another black person. A very candid statement, but true nonetheless. A black man shot a man who tried to rob multiple people while the robber was RUNNING AWAY, and he was not arrested. It was deemed self defense on the scene. Why this case got blown up was obviously because the media needs a boogeyman, even though much worse and sinister things happen every day between black people themselves. If I'm being honest, I think the black community should get together and talk about what's going on between themselves, before getting upset over "racism". Every day black people kill each other, just like white people kill each other. We need to improve our own communities before racism is conquered, and that includes all races.

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I do feel afraid of my safety. The extremists (Al Sharpton) and people like them do not care that he was arrested, like they asked, and found innocent. They are out for blood. They have said "We will take one of his own". I am close enough to be caught up in that. We have had many death threats, and I've had to be careful on facebook and keeping my tongue cool when people talk about it. I'm not nearly as afraid as George and Shellie must be. I know where they are, and believe me, no one is finding them. Their plan is too lay low and not attract attention.

Do you think George will ever be able to live a normal life again?

No.

Tl;dr: No.

Is the general consensus of the family to be more "happy he wasn't convicted" or "sad Trayvon Martin is dead"?

Tough question. To be honest, the general consensus is that all of us in the family wish it hadn't happened. George and Shellie will forever have to hide, change their names, etc...All because the media thinks it's okay to bring up names of people and drag them through the mud before they've even been convicted. For them, a "not guilty" isn't the end. It's when they don't have to fear for their lives and can be comfortable that this will be over. I will say George is very sad about what he had to do, but he knows he can't change the past.

How do you feel about a family member of yours having killed a human?

To me, it's terrible. I now see what the effects of killing someone are on someone's psyche, when they have no choice. Like a soldier coming across a child with a grenade, it has to be done. But it leaves its scars, and that's a good thing yet at the same time, very bad. Killing somebody is not something to be apathetic about.

this sounds a lot like pr to make Zimmerman not look like a racist.... haha

/r/conspiracy

Now that the trial is over, is your family feeling relief? Or is there a heightened nervous tension for George and your family knowing that there are a lot of people angry about the verdict and being threatening?

We are relieved that he is innocent for sure, but we haven't climbed the mountain yet. It would be foolish to think anyone will just accept what the jury chose, despite that being what they wanted in the first place.

He shot an unarmed man whom he followed, far from "innocent for sure" in many peoples eyes. Do you understand this point of view and what do you think about it?

To that I say, I understand the point of view, but it's wrong. He didn't follow him like people think, didn't initiate the confrontation and didn't want to fight for his life that night.

Lol I know who you are ;) I am your brother!

Confirmed, this is my brother, and he can answer questions as much as I can.

Ninja Edit: also, remember the time you punched me in the head when training me to fight? Payback, MOTHERFUCKER! FRONT PAGE!

How do you feel personally?

It's hard to answer a question as broad as this, could you be a little more specific please?

Have you seen any tendencies for Zimmerman to be racist in the past? Maybe with the way he talks about certain groups of people or what he has said in passing?

He most definitely isn't racist, and I've covered this in another reply.

Does George like beer? I want to buy him a cold beer and give him a hug.

He does indeed!

what observations led him to believe martin was "suspicious"? if some jerk off hopped out of his car and started badgering me about what i was doing, id respond with hostility too. your relative sounds like an asshole and the wrong person probably died that day.

There were a lot of break ins in the area, and George was trying to help out. Before all this happened, I remember George and Shellie talking about shooting at the range. I asked them why they needed guns, and a layer of extra protection for Shellie, a huge rottweiller, and they told me they were scared of where they lived. Shellie was scared to even go jogging in the neighborhood with their dog, because people would walk in the dark and jump people.