George Zimmerman has said he ‘absolutely’ believes that he is a victim of the fallout following his fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida.
In his second TV interview in a matter of days, Zimmerman also compared himself to ‘all our fallen soldiers’ as he claimed his trail for second-degree murder and manslaughter had been unjust and the result of political pressure.
‘I feel the people in power, like [Florida] Gov. Scott, cowered to political pressure and shredded the Constitution, and spit in the face of all our fallen soldiers, and went through with a malicious prosecution, simply for political pressure,’ said Zimmerman.
The interview, conducted with Fusion TV’s Derrick Ashong, will air in its entirety on Tuesday evening and in it Zimmerman protests that he has never been racist and that he is living ‘the most Christlike that I can.’
He also told Ashong that he had nothing to say to Trayvon Martin’s parents ‘because of the ongoing civil rights violation investigation by the Department of Justice, I wouldn’t say anything to them.’
As well as denying being a racist, Zimmerman claimed he didn’t understand why people are so animated about the racial component of his case.
When asked if the races involved in his case had been reversed, he said he believed that the outcome of the trail would have been identical.
Zimmerman also spoke about his attempts to sell paintings as a means of supporting himself and he was forced to deny that he was profiting off the tragic loss of another person’s life.
‘I try to move on with my life and just live the most Christlike that I can,’ he said. ‘I’m $2.5 million in debt, so I have to do something to earn a living and keep a roof over my head,’ he said.
Ashong also asked Zimmerman if he ever thought he might be able to have anything resembling a normal life.
‘I hate to sound jaded by what’s happened, but in all sincerity I plan for the worst and hope for the best,’ said Zimmerman. ‘Whatever it is, I hope that God loves me and uses me for whatever he has planned.’
On the same day that that interview is being televised, it has been reported that Zimmerman has been forced to flee Miami after being chased by a crowd and that there is a $10,000 bounty on his head.