FBI requests hold on Zimmerman trial evidence including gun

While normally George Zimmerman could expect to have his weapon returned to him by authorities by the end of the month, that probably will not happen because the FBI has requested that Sanford, FL authorities maintain custody of all evidence from the trial. Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stated at an NAACP rally that he would look into the possibility of a Federal Civil Rights case against Zimmerman.

Fox News reports:

The FBI has asked authorities in Sanford, Fla. to not give George Zimmerman back his gun after he was cleared of all charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a Department of Justice official tells Fox News.

The report may serve as further confirmation the Justice Department is taking seriously its investigation into whether or not to pursue a federal civil rights case against Zimmerman, after Attorney General Eric Holder said in an address Tuesday to the NAACP that his department would “consider all available information” before deciding whether to move forward.

DOJ officials may be able to consider testimonies or evidence that had not been presented at trial, because they have made an open request to the public for more information on Zimmerman, particularly anything that could indicate that his actions on the night Trayvon Martin died were racially motivated. Reportedly, some supporters of Zimmerman decided to send emails in response to this public request, suggesting that the DOJ drop the investigation, because it had already been shown in court that there apparently was no racial motivation.

As reported by the Daily Mail, David Letterman and Bill Maher weighed in on the case, and the idea of Zimmerman getting his weapon back:

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher drew boos from audience members on Tuesday during a taping of The Late Show With David Letterman, by saying that ‘the Florida state law is that he can get his gun back. I say that if he gets a gun, Casey Anthony gets a baby.’

Anthony was acquitted in 2011, also in Florida, of killing her two-year-old daughter in 2008.

Shortly after the verdict was read, death threats started hitting Twitter, and Zimmerman’s brother – Robert Zimmerman, Jr. – has contended since the verdict was read that his brother may be free, but will have to watch over his shoulder for the rest of his life.