George Zimmerman, who in 2013 was acquitted after being charged with murder for his fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, has filed a lawsuit against two Democratic presidential candidates seeking $265 million in damages. The complaint, reported Wednesday, accuses Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg of defamation.At issue are tweets each candidate posted on what would have been Martin's 25th birthday in early February:> My heart goes out to @SybrinaFulton and Trayvon's family and friends. He should still be with us today.> > We need to end gun violence and racism. And we need to build a world where all of our children—especially young Black boys—can grow up safe and free. https://t.co/9lXXlRnvzL> > — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 6, 2020> Trayvon Martin would have been 25 today.> > How many 25th birthdays have been stolen from us by white supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?BlackLivesMatter> > — Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 5, 2020The posts were made "for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman's expense," the lawsuit filing claims, arguing the timing was merely "a pretext to demagogue and falsely brand Zimmerman as a white supremacist and racist to their millions of Twitter followers."Zimmerman is already suing Martin's family, including his mother, whom Warren tagged in her tweet. That lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages and alleges falsified testimony.More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Has Trump solved his biggest 2016 campaign problem? Bernie Sanders aide denies report he considered a primary challenge to Obama
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