George Zimmerman smiles during a light moment while he testifies at a hearing for accused shooter Matthew Apperson, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla. Apperson is charged with attempted murder of Zimmerman for shooting into Zimmerman’s vehicle in May, 2015. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)
On Oct. 5, George Zimmerman posted a letter on his Twitter account saying he accidentally re-tweeted a photo of the dead body of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watchman who was acquitted after shooting and killing Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, in February 2012.
According to the Huffington Post, Zimmerman reposted the image, which was originally posted by Twitter user @SeriousSlav with the caption “Z-Man is a one man army,” on Sept. 27. Twitter swiftly deleted the tweet, and @SeriousSlav’s account has since been suspended.
The tweet spawned a lot of backlash. Zimmerman, however, said he retweeted the posting without seeing the actual image and thought he was retweeting words of encouragement from a supporter.
“The image of the body was blocked on my twitter feed and all twitter feeds,” the letter, embedded below, reads. “Until the user chose to click on the blocked image warning it does not show the image. I did not click on the blocked image and preview it prior to re-tweeting it.”
Zimmerman goes on to say that he “did nothing wrong and has nothing to apologize for.” He also stated he values his religious beliefs and would not do such a thing purposely because it would not be pleasing to God.
“I hold my Christian beliefs very close. I believe that me knowingly re-tweeting that image, would not be looked upon favorably by God; therefore I would not do it,” he stated in the letter.
He added that he would never tweet an image of Martin or his family and has never directly referenced them on any occasion.
Since his acquittal in July 2013, Zimmerman has had multiple run-ins with the law. He has also been known to tweet racially insensitive comments, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Twitter: @hunter_jonathan