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The Real George Zimmerman-A cautionary tale for conservatives.
FrontPage Magazine ^ | January 19, 2015 | Ari Lieberman

Posted on 01/19/2015 5:12:05 AM PST by SJackson

The Real George Zimmerman

Posted By Ari Lieberman On January 19, 2015 @ 12:38 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 11 Comments

George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, is unsurprisingly in the news again. It seems he just can’t get his act together. This time he’s accused of throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend – who has described him as a “psychopath” – and smashing her cell phone, which earned him an aggravated assault charge. Zimmerman, who appeared in handcuffs and a blue prison uniform during his arraignment, was released on $5,000 bond.

This isn’t Zimmerman’s first brush with the law since his July 2013 acquittal on second degree murder charges. In fact, menacing with firearms and bouts of domestic violence are recurring themes in Zimmerman’s checkered history. Shortly after the July 2013 trial, for instance, Zimmerman’s now ex-wife Shellie made a panicked phone call to police alleging that Zimmerman had threatened her with a firearm, smashed her iPad and punched her father in the face. “He’s in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun and he keeps saying, ‘Step closer’ —he’s just threatening all of us with his firearm and he’s going to shoot us,” Shellie Zimmerman frantically told a 911 dispatcher before police arrived at the scene. A weapon was never recovered in this case, but 911 audio demonstrates a sincere belief on the part of Shellie Zimmerman that her estranged husband had a gun in his possession and that her life was in danger.

A few months after the altercation with his ex-wife, Zimmerman was also accused by another girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, of threatening her with a shotgun and engaging in a destructive tirade which ended in Zimmerman barricading himself in Scheibe’s home. Scheibe told police that Zimmerman had broken some of her belongings and then pushed her outside of the residence, locking the door. Yet another girlfriend, former fiancé Veronica Zuazo, filed for and was granted a restraining order against Zimmerman in 2005 over domestic violence allegations. Zimmerman cross-claimed with his own accusations of domestic violence and was granted a restraining order against Zuazo.

In September 2014, Zimmerman was again in the news over a road rage incident in which he allegedly followed another motorist and harassed him while both were driving. The alarmed driver pulled off the road to call 911, telling the dispatcher that Zimmerman had threatened to shoot him. According to the other driver, whose identity was not released to the public, Zimmerman fled before police arrived. A few days later, the same driver made another call to police alleging that he saw Zimmerman in his truck outside his place of work.

Criminal charges in the above cases were either dropped or never filed, but they do give a strong indication of the real character of George Zimmerman. The latest altercation coupled with the previous incidents paint a portrait of a troubled man with, to say the least, some serious anger management issues. While this does not render him a murderer, it certainly does chip away at his credibility. And since there were only two antagonists in the Trayvon Martin shooting case, one of whom is dead, credibility is a central issue.

As noted by David Horowitz in a July 2013 article, “Is the Zimmerman Case Really Open and Shut?”, there were a number of facts in this case that were indisputable. Zimmerman lied during the proceedings. He schemed with his wife to conceal the fact that he had received well over a hundred thousand dollars in donations. He disingenuously stated that he had no knowledge of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law when it was established that he in fact did know of the law. And he stated that Martin jumped out at him from the bushes, when there were no bushes in that area. Moreover, Zimmerman sustained very superficial injuries – some minor scrapes and bumps – and these injuries are not entirely consistent with the life and death struggle that Zimmerman described.

Trayvon Martin, who had made a purchase at a local convenience store, was unarmed when he was killed. Zimmerman, a cop wannabe, marked Martin as “suspicious,” because, as we now know, he was young, black and wearing a hoodie. Prosecutors asserted that Zimmerman disregarded a police dispatcher’s specific instructions to stop following Martin, though Zimmerman disputes this and claimed that he was merely trying to verify his location. Whichever version is accurate, it is indisputable that by initially exiting his vehicle and following Martin, Zimmerman put into motion a sequence of events that ultimately culminated in a confrontation which led to the tragic death of an unarmed 17-year-old youth with no criminal record.

As observed by Horowitz, Zimmerman inexplicably stated in an interview with Sean Hannity that he would not have done anything differently that night because “it was God’s plan.” That bizarre and heartless response speaks volumes about Zimmerman’s character. Surely Zimmerman had a multitude of alternatives. For one thing, he could have placed a 911 call from his car and left it at that.

Horowitz was criticized by numerous Frontpage readers in the comment section of his article for ostensibly taking too liberal of a position. But Zimmerman’s repeated post-acquittal run-ins with the law – where his rage and aggression are central and undeniable themes – have vindicated Horowitz’s position that this case was far from clear-cut in terms of Zimmerman’s alleged “self-defense.” There was, in fact, ample reason to question Zimmerman’s account of events and the legal process needed to take its course.

This is not to say that Zimmerman’s version of events was untrue and his acquittal wrong. The defense did an excellent job in raising reasonable doubt, but some myopic conservatives were clearly too quick to assume Zimmerman’s innocence, ignoring an abundance of inculpatory evidence while focusing instead on exculpatory evidence. In many ways, their reactions mimicked those of radical leftists and race-baiters like Al Sharpton, who automatically assumed that Zimmerman was guilty regardless of the sufficiency of the evidence and ramped up an unassuageable campaign of lynch mob justice.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
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I don't see where conservatives are or were involved in a political sense. They may be guilty of looking at all the evidence, including exculpatory evidence, unlike what the author describes as the lynch mob mentality of the sharptons of the nation and the press. His acts post acquittal are irrelevant, he may not be a nice guy, but you don't go to prison for being a jerk, rather for crimes committed. I acknowledge under similar circumstances I wouldn't have followed Travon (unless perhaps he was on my property), but even if that was poor judgement, it's not a depraved mind. If politics were involved at all, it was liberals attempting to capitalize on the purported racial aspects of the case, and a prosecutor who overcharged.
1 posted on 01/19/2015 5:12:05 AM PST by SJackson
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To: SJackson

With all the $hit and hate Zimmerman went through I tend to believe it affected him in more ways than one. That’s not an excuse, but he probably needs to get some professional help because of what he went through on a national stage.


2 posted on 01/19/2015 5:16:13 AM PST by chicagolady (Mexican Elite say: EXPORT Poverty and Let the the Stupid AmericanTaxpayer foot the bill !)
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To: SJackson

Which came first, the “chicken” (Zimmerman’s psychological issues) or the “egg” (overwhelming stress of the attempting railroading)?

I didn’t know him before any of this crap went down, so it’s pretty hard to judge.

I imagine that going through what he went through would make me a little crazy, too. In fact, I’m not sure I would have held up as well as *he* did.


3 posted on 01/19/2015 5:16:37 AM PST by Nervous Tick (There is no "allah" but satan, and mohammed was his demon-possessed tool.)
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To: SJackson

Its always been my opinion that Zimmerman should not have followed Martin but he was still innocent because he shot in self defense.


4 posted on 01/19/2015 5:17:31 AM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: SJackson

Lieberman is an idiot.


5 posted on 01/19/2015 5:21:12 AM PST by mylife
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To: SJackson

Zimmerman is (or at least was) an Obama supporter. And conservatives can agree that he was correct in preventing Martin from dashing his brains out on a concrete walk. And right in protecting his community by being a member of the neighborhood watch.

That’s it. Every time this clown threatens a wife or girlfriend he should be taken to task


6 posted on 01/19/2015 5:21:38 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: SJackson

17-year-old youth with no criminal record.

No ADULT criminal record


7 posted on 01/19/2015 5:22:22 AM PST by CGASMIA68
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To: SJackson

The real Trayvon didn’t matter one iota to libtards.


8 posted on 01/19/2015 5:23:16 AM PST by bolobaby
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To: Nervous Tick

I agree. I wonder what he was like before Trayvon?


9 posted on 01/19/2015 5:24:55 AM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: PghBaldy

The other thing- much of this post-trial stuff DOES NOT MATTER, IMO. Trayvon was still a thug (at lest that night), who was pounding GZ’s head against the ground/sidewalk.


10 posted on 01/19/2015 5:26:35 AM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: cripplecreek

Think Kissinger regarding the Iran/Iraq war in the 80’s: It’s too bad they both can’t lose.


11 posted on 01/19/2015 5:27:23 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: CGASMIA68

>>17-year-old youth with no criminal record.
>>
>>No ADULT criminal record

Speaking of which, what ever happened with getting Trayvon Martin’s juvy records released? At one time there was supposedly someone in FL working on that.

If we had a real media, they’d have worked harder on that in the interests of getting the whole story.


12 posted on 01/19/2015 5:31:40 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Vaquero

Agreed... This was obama zombie meets obama zombie with expected results and one got voted off the island.

Zimmerman was convicted by the left of using the 2nd amendment as a refuge in light of his bad judgement to escalate the situation.

He is no hero to the right, regardless of how the left wants to change the story.


13 posted on 01/19/2015 5:32:09 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: SJackson
George really didn't "follow" anyone. PRECISE descriptions are vital, vague flights of fancy just don't make the cut.

The beast that tried to eat George Zimmerman was laying in wait for prey to stumble by. It still wants him,it doesn't like to miss a kill.

14 posted on 01/19/2015 5:34:31 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not A Matter of Opinion)
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To: cripplecreek

So what if he followed St. Skittles. He has every right to follow whoever he wants to unless he attacks said person. He killed the thug in self defense.


15 posted on 01/19/2015 5:38:10 AM PST by Sir_Humphrey (Is it too late to save the country?)
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To: Sir_Humphrey

LOL I just knew somebody would get their panties in a twist.


16 posted on 01/19/2015 5:40:00 AM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

“Its always been my opinion that Zimmerman should not have followed Martin...”

Tough call....I’m reminded of two cases. The first involves a young George Patton. He saw what he thought was a woman being forced into a car. He intervened, but it turned out to be a complete misunderstanding.

In the other case, a witness testified that he saw a man walking a woman into a park. He knew something didn’t look right, and he was tempted to follow, but....well....he was late for work...so he drove on. In this case the woman was raped and murdered.

After the fact it’s always an easy call, but at the time....


17 posted on 01/19/2015 5:46:09 AM PST by JoeDetweiler
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To: SJackson

This article really piles it on good & heavy.

Nice hatchet job, Ari.


18 posted on 01/19/2015 5:48:34 AM PST by BraveMan
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To: SJackson

And with the liberal MSM and activists continuously targeting him and the he vs she version of events that never seem to completely match up whose to say if anyone is telling the truth. One truth we do know - the liberal MSM and their followers have targeted Zimmerman and what he stood for for extinction and they are relentless; the truth doesn’t matter at this point; only what they want does...


19 posted on 01/19/2015 5:49:39 AM PST by jsanders2001
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To: BraveMan

“George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin”

I can’t believe he forgot the words “unarmed black” in the 1st sentence, the libs are slippin’.


20 posted on 01/19/2015 5:52:17 AM PST by V_TWIN
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