Rev. Al Sharpton plans rally over Trayvon Martin killing

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Trayvon "Trey" Martin

/ CBS

(CBS) SANFORD, Fla. - Community activist Rev. Al Sharpton is organizing a rally Thursday night at a Sanford, Fla. church, to call for justice in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch captain, CBS Miami reports.

Photos: Trayvon Martin

The station reports civil rights leaders declared a victory Tuesday night in getting federal and state officials to investigate the case but continued to pressure authorities to make an arrest in the death of the unarmed black teenager last month.

"We are pleased the Department of Justice has heeded our calls and agreed to investigate this outrageous case," Benjamin Jealous, national president of the NAACP said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "The rules of justice in this nation have failed when an innocent teenage boy can be shot to death by a vigilante and no arrest is made for weeks."

At a town hall meeting Tuesday evening in Sanford, officials from the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Nation of Islam urged residents to remain calm but demand that the shooter, George Zimmerman, be arrested.

"I stand here as a son, father, uncle who is tired of being scared for our boys," Jealous said. "I'm tired of telling our young men how they can't dress, where they can't go and how they can't behave."

Zimmerman has a concealed weapons permit, and it has become the focus of an 11:00 a.m. rally Wednesday outside the Florida Division of Licensing in Orlando. Local pastors and members of the Florida Civil Rights Association are planning to rally for Zimmerman to have his concealed weapons permit revoked.

Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting and has said he shot Martin, who was returning to a gated community after buying candy at a convenience store, in self-defense after Martin attacked him. Police said Zimmerman is white; his family says he is Hispanic.

"This is just the beginning of what is taking place," local NAACP leader Turner Clayton Jr said. "We're going to make sure justice prevails."

An online petition urging local authorities to prosecute Zimmerman had drawn more than 700,000 signatures at the website Change.org as of early Wednesday.

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on Crimesider

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Fla. teen Trayvon Martin killed by neighborhood watch volunteer

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by teemee1234 March 26, 2012 12:00 PM EDT: If someone is half white and hispanic and in this case they only see the white side come on what is the world coming to..... R.I.P Trayvon Martin all i know is we are missing the main thing here is a young life taken to soon; Reply to this comment


by c-strong March 22, 2012 11:56 AM EDT: I see the dislike for Rev Sharpton, I guess he doesn't know how to stay in his place.; Reply to this comment

by rightontarget March 21, 2012 5:10 PM EDT

Although I totally think that Zimmerman deserves to go to jail for this horrible act I really cannot stand that publicity hound Sharpton. He is a fraud and uses any situation just to get his 15 minutes of fame. He actually does nobody any good and should mind his own business.

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by c-strong March 22, 2012 11:48 AM EDT: number sharpton was ask, second he has 60min a day 5 days a week on msnbc and you used your 15 min being ignorant


by FrankieBFromNY March 21, 2012 4:08 PM EDT: Al Sharpton is a race-baiting neanderthal. The man was behind the Tawana Brawley Hoax, the Massacre At Freddy's Fashion Mart, attacked Bernie Goetz for defending himself from 4 subhuman thugs, and instigated racial hatred during the Crown Heights Race Riots.; Reply to this comment


by morris2196 March 21, 2012 1:34 PM EDT: Sharpton's efforts are misplaced. According to crime statistics, a black person is more likely to be killed by another Black person than a White one.; Reply to this comment


by pdnoer March 21, 2012 1:05 PM EDT: Sharpton is not a racist - he works on behalf of whites, hispanics, asians etc - anybody denied their rights, especially the right to vote.
Yes, arrest Zimmerman. The boy (Martin( had no idea if Zimmerman was trying to kidnap him, rob him, or rape him. Zimmerman is not an official Crime Watch member and has no ID to present - nor did he try.; Reply to this comment

by alaskan1st March 21, 2012 12:44 PM EDT

I'm certain that if this was a white teen, dead on the ground, the police would have arrested this Hispanic.

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by rcerke79 March 21, 2012 1:11 PM EDT: Perhaps, But Al Sharpton would have no comment. And if Zimmerman were a Black Man, Sharpton would be telling us to wait for the investigation to be completed before convicting this man in the court of public opinion.


by teemee1234 March 26, 2012 11:56 AM EDT: ok someone asked y al sharpton never came to boston and spoke out about the not guilty verdic on the mattapan murders and my answer was ...... BECAUSE IT WAS A BLACK ON BLACK CRIME .... and not a WHITE on BLACK crime thats y


by Soulice201 March 21, 2012 12:34 PM EDT: The shooter should be arrested, he as the pursuer and not the victim. On the other hand, the racist and bigot, Al Sharpton, should not be involved.; Reply to this comment