Documents published online Wednesday by a conservative watchdog group show that the Community Relations Service, an arm of the U.S. Justice Department, spent taxpayer dollars to help organize and implement plans for the initial string of rallies in Sanford, Florida following the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
The protests were openly hostile to George Zimmerman, the volunteer neighborhood watch organizer who killed Martin, 17, after a struggle. Zimmerman is currently on trial in a Florida courtroom, charged with second-degree murder.
(Rev. Al Sharpton (C) spoke at a 'Justice for Trayvon' rally along with Tracy Martin (R) and Sybrina Fulton (2nd L), parents of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, on March 22, 2012 )
-snip-
(George Zimmerman, shown in an evidence photo with injuries he sustained during the confrontation that ended Trayvon Martin's life, is charged with second-degree murder)
-snip-
-snip-
(Thousands of posters were printed demanding Zimmerman's arrest for killing Martin. These signs were funded by the Service Employees International Union local 1199, a health care workers union)
-snip-
(Trayvon Martin supporters marched before a town hall meeting about the shooting on March 26, 2012. Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and NAACP president Benjamin Jealous all spoke at the event)
The agency's Florida activities did include providing 'technical assistance' to law enforcement and city managers in Sanford.
-snip-
The Orlando Sentinel reported earlier in the same week that the DOJ's Community Relations Service 'helped set up a meeting between the local NAACP and elected officials that led to the temporary resignation of police Chief...'
The Sentinel also reported that Community Relations Service employees arranged a 40-mile police escort for students calling for the police chief's ouster who were traveling from Daytona Beach to Sanford.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
