George Zimmerman, in a new interview, has said the parents of Trayvon Martin---the teen he shot in 2012---did not “raise their son right.”
Zimmerman, 32, also called the Black Lives Matter movement a “fraudulent, violent campaign” in the interview with The Daily Beast, published Tuesday.
The former neighborhood watch volunteer from Florida shot and killed Martin, 17, on February 2012 and was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2013.
“They didn’t raise their son right. He attacked a complete stranger and attempted to kill him,” Zimmerman said of Martin and his parents.
“Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin did everything they could to capitalize on her son’s death,” he added. “She was never a mother figure to him. Tracy Martin couldn’t have cared less about their son. He treated him like a dog without a leash.”
Zimmerman was following Martin on a street at a gated neighborhood in Sanford, Florida, and then called police to describe him as suspicious. Later, he and Martin got into an altercation that ended with Zimmerman shooting Martin.
“It is what was used to save my life from a near-death brutal attack by Trayvon Martin,” Zimmerman said of his gun, which he placed up for auction last week.
He added: “If it was a stick or mace, it’s the one tool I had that prevented Trayvon from killing me.”
“Sure, I’m sorry for any parent that has lost a child,” Zimmerman added. “That being said, I also believe it’s their duty to have an internal dialogue to see what they should have done better and what they should have done appropriately.”
Zimmerman also said he would fight against Black Lives Matter and would compensate law enforcement officers who were affected by it.
“They would know,” he added, “that George Zimmerman is going to step in and make them richer than they ever dreamed of being.”
He also blasted the media and “the masses.”
“If I have to live my life and if I have to go about my business as a normal person, then I would do that. However, I’m not afforded that luxury anymore,” he said. “You guys. The media. The masses. The Fulton-Martin family. They took that from me.”
Zimmerman has had several run-ins with the law after his trial came to a conclusion. At one point, he was charged with aggravated assault involving a girlfriend. He also painted several pictures, including one of an American flag.
As of Wednesday, Zimmerman’s gun---a Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol---was up to $137,700 on the UnitedGunGroup.com auction website. Nine people have placed bids on the firearm.
The auction describes the weapon as a piece of “American history” and includes photos from his trial, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
