After being acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, former-neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman is due to get his gun, which was used as evidence in his trial, returned to him. Not so fast, says the U.S Department of Justice, overseen by Attorney General Eric Holder, who has ordered a hold put on evidence of the trial. Nobody is getting their stuff back yet. The evidence could still be used if the DOJ decided to open a charge against Zimmerman. For though Zimmerman can’t be charged twice for the same crime, there is an exception under U.S. constitutional law where a man can be charged a second time, not for murder, but for violating Trayvon Martin’s civil rights.
“I am concerned about this case,” said Holder to black civil rights activists, as reported by Mail Online, “And as we confirmed last spring, the Justice Department has an open investigation into it.”
“While that inquiry is ongoing, I can promise that the Department of Justice will consider all available information before determining what action to take.”
In other words, its not certain if the DOJ has enough to go on to claim Zimmerman was motivated by racial hatred – there was scant evidence of that in the last trial – but if there is enough evidence, they will go for it.