Witness Says George Zimmerman Harassed Him With Racist Jokes (Audio)

“Achmed the terrorist”

CrimeMay 2012 • Views: 34,065

This could start to explain why prosecutors have reportedly been considering charging George Zimmerman with hate crimes in the death of Trayvon Martin: AUDIO: Witness Says George Zimmerman Repeatedly Bullied Him at Work, Targeted Him With Racist Jokes.

Among the evidence in the Trayvon Martin case released by the Florida state prosecutor yesterday was a 15-minute interview with a former work colleague of George Zimmerman. The man, who is not identified by name, says that Zimmerman relentlessly bullied him at work.

Zimmerman, according to the witness, targeted him because he was Middle Eastern. He repeatedly called the man a “fucking moron” and mocked him using the voice of “Achmed the terrorist.” Zimmerman’s stories about the man would involve “bombing,” “I’ll kill your family” and other “jokes” about “Middle Eastern stuff.” According to the man, this went on “for days and days.”

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42 comments

simoom Fri, May 18, 2012 12:38:55pm

... mocked him using the voice of “Achmed the terrorist.”

Ugg... Jeff Dunham.

S'latch Fri, May 18, 2012 12:39:07pm

This case gets more complex every time I hear about it.

Kragar Fri, May 18, 2012 12:39:17pm

Obviously, these comments were taken out of context.
/

Charles Johnson Fri, May 18, 2012 12:42:58pm

Wow, talk about projection!

Charles Johnson has spent all day trolling me. Literally, all day. ALL. DAY.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 18, 2012

Kragar Fri, May 18, 2012 12:46:08pm

re: #4 Charles Johnson

Wow, talk about projection!

[Embedded content]

But she has you blocked, so how would she know?

lawhawk Fri, May 18, 2012 12:48:13pm

From an emotional standpoint, this doesn't make Zimmerman look good at all. However, this isn't about emotions. It's about whether this affects the legal case.

From a legal standpoint, this would ordinarily be considered character evidence and character evidence is generally inadmissible (along the lines of FRE Rule 404). There are exceptions to the rule - such as when the defense introduces character evidence, which is when the prosecution could introduce this kind of evidence to rebut the defense claims. The defense would have to open the door to character evidence before the prosecution could rebut. The prosecution couldn't use this as proof of Zimmerman's tendencies or racist/hate-filled past.

However, under a federal hate crime charge - such as under 18 USC 249, prosecutors would have to show that the victim was targeted because of their race, color, religion, or national origin. That would require statements by the defendant showing that he targeted the victim on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, or national origin or that he expressed views towards the group to which the victim belonged (hated African Americans, gays, Jews, etc.)

So, this might not be admissible in the state murder case against Zimmerman, but it could form the basis of a federal case that Zimmerman violated Martin's civil rights - that he hated and targeted minority groups.

lawhawk Fri, May 18, 2012 12:49:19pm

re: #4 Charles Johnson

Mr. Irrelevant is so irrelevant that they have no choice but to address you multiple times a day to remind you of your irrelevance.

Can you say that you're in their headspace? /yeah, but I recommend hazmat suits for prolonged exposure.

Eventual Carrion Fri, May 18, 2012 12:49:25pm

re: #5 Kragar

But she has you blocked, so how would she know?

She has felt her Heine senses tingling ALL. DAY.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Fri, May 18, 2012 12:52:00pm

re: #5 Kragar

But she has you blocked, so how would she know?

I love that a CNN contributor is acting like this, it's just so wonderful

The future is great!

Killgore Trout Fri, May 18, 2012 12:52:28pm

re: #6 lawhawk

However, under a federal hate crime charge - such as under 18 USC 249, prosecutors would have to show that the victim was targeted because of their race, color, religion, or national origin. That would require statements by the defendant showing that he targeted the victim on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, or national origin or that he expressed views towards the group to which the victim belonged (hated African Americans, gays, Jews, etc.)

So, this might not be admissible in the state murder case against Zimmerman, but it could form the basis of a federal case that Zimmerman violated Martin's civil rights - that he hated and targeted minority groups.

That confirms my suspicion that this allegation is probably among the least interesting pieces of evidence that was released. It really doesn't tell us much about the shooting. Zimmerman could have been a Klan member and if Trayvon attacked him it still would have been self defense.

lawhawk Fri, May 18, 2012 12:55:13pm

re: #10 Killgore Trout

But for Zimmerman initiating the incident by following Martin, Martin would still be alive.

We know that Zimmerman was following Martin. We know that Martin may have fought (or fought back) with Zimmerman, and Zimmerman ended up killing Martin.

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Fri, May 18, 2012 12:55:56pm

a mentally ill racist wacko, who America makes guns easily available to

put those two together, and you get dead people. America!

wrenchwench Fri, May 18, 2012 12:58:38pm

re: #8 RayFerd

She has felt her Heine senses tingling ALL. DAY.

Is that the scientific description for butthurt?

WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.] Fri, May 18, 2012 1:04:39pm

Karl Marx is still right ^_^

brb, spending my trust fund on Aston Martins filled with weed

gwangung Fri, May 18, 2012 1:05:04pm

re: #10 Killgore Trout

Normally, I agree, but there's enough complexity, both in the event and in e various laws, that I don't feel comfortable saying its relevant or not.

That doesn't make me comfortable, to be honest....

Kragar Fri, May 18, 2012 1:08:37pm

Man charged with alleged threat to blow up Dem Party offices

Federal authorities charged a Madison man Friday with making a telephone threat in February to blow up the offices of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, among more than 100 calls he allegedly placed to the office this year.

William O. Diederich repeatedly threatened to shoot Democrats and those supporting the recall of Gov. Scott Walker in phone calls he made to the Democratic Party's office at 110 King St. in January, February and March, according to an affidavit by FBI agent Joseph Lavelle, filed in U.S. District Court in Madison.

On Feb. 24, the affidavit states, Diederich left a voice mail message stating that when the building explodes, the bombings of Sterling Hall on the UW-Madison campus and the federal building in Oklahoma City will "seem like a firecracker compared to what's gonna happen to you people."

The message states that the building was going to blow up "one of these days."

"I'm not going to tell you how it's gonna happen 'cause I don't know exactly how it's gonna happen, but I can guarantee it's going to happen, and I tell ya, it's not going to be good," the caller, alleged to be Diederich, states in the message.

wrenchwench Fri, May 18, 2012 1:13:10pm

re: #4 Charles Johnson

Wow, talk about projection!

[Embedded content]

Can you fix it so that if one clicks on a link in an embedded Tweet it opens in a new tab instead of hijacking the current one? Or is this all part of your plan to control the Twitter Empire?

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Fri, May 18, 2012 1:14:56pm

re: #17 wrenchwench

Can you fix it so that if one clicks on a link in an embedded Tweet it opens in a new tab instead of hijacking the current one?

Been thinking about that today.

Eventual Carrion Fri, May 18, 2012 1:15:00pm

re: #16 Kragar

Man charged with alleged threat to blow up Dem Party offices

And he probably hates terrorists too.

wrenchwench Fri, May 18, 2012 1:16:12pm

re: #18 Ser Day! Ser Day!

!

Been thinking about that today.

I know.

Kragar Fri, May 18, 2012 1:17:16pm

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Liberty Counsel attorney Harry Mihet appeared on VCY America’s Crosstalk yesterday where in response to a caller’s statement about how Christians will soon “suffer” when they “speak the truth in love to a homosexual,” he said that in due time America will soon become like a Communist country where people can be arrested for “speaking the truth”:

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is a satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

allegro Fri, May 18, 2012 1:21:47pm

It may not make a difference in the murder case, but it makes a difference to me. Here we see:

Trayvon: 17 year old high school kid, reportedly a good student with a positive nature, football player, goofed around with his friends and smoked weed on occasion.

Zimmerman: reported bully at his workplace, on record as assauling police during an arrest, cruised his neighborhood and called police 40+ times in a year, even reporting a young black child as presumably suspicious, trolled the neighborhood looking for "punks" with a loaded gun...

Yeah, it matters.

Targetpractice Fri, May 18, 2012 1:22:40pm

re: #21 Kragar

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is a satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

Next thing you know, they won't let you go around saying n*****!

b_sharp Fri, May 18, 2012 1:23:15pm

re: #21 Kragar

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is a satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

It's so entertaining when the dominant group cries oppression.

Mattand Fri, May 18, 2012 1:23:45pm

re: #21 Kragar

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is a satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

Buddy of mine is forever railing about political correctness run amok. As has been pointed out before, no one's stopping anyone for being politically incorrect. Say what you want; just don't bellow "Censorship" when you get called out on your stupid-ass statements.

I believe it's what conservatives call "accountability."

Lidane Fri, May 18, 2012 1:24:28pm

re: #24 Ghost of Insanity

It's so entertaining when the dominant group cries oppression.

And when a big Republican donor begs for state funds to run his business.

Sol Berdinowitz Fri, May 18, 2012 1:24:37pm

Good old boys having a little harmless fun with their colleagues at work is going to be outlawed under Obama!!!

ProMayaLiberal Fri, May 18, 2012 1:24:39pm

re: #25 mattand

They just want to bully without consequences. It's that damn simple.

allegro Fri, May 18, 2012 1:25:04pm

re: #21 Kragar

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is a satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

You just have to say it lovingly.

Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton Fri, May 18, 2012 1:25:43pm

re: #20 wrenchwench

I know.

/?

Clicking f'd up by tab.

Targetpractice Fri, May 18, 2012 1:26:16pm

re: #28 ProGunLiberal

They just want to bully without consequences. It's that damn simple.

Pretty much. They want to bring back that Ol' Time Hatred, when white folk could tell their "lessers" what they thought of them and get nods of approval instead of looks of shock and disgust from other white folk.

b_sharp Fri, May 18, 2012 1:27:14pm

re: #31 Targetpractice

Pretty much. They want to bring back that Ol' Time Hatred, when white folk could tell their "lessers" what they thought of them and get nods of approval instead of looks of shock and disgust from other white folk.

It's scary to lose that kind of power.

Mattand Fri, May 18, 2012 1:27:43pm

re: #26 Lidane

And when a big Republican donor begs for state funds to run his business.

That's been big news on the video game/tech blogs. Man, what a clusterfuck. RI, you have my sympathies.

Also the irony of Schilling, who apparently has been or has gone full metal tea bag, begging a government for money has not gone unnoticed.

Simply Sarah Fri, May 18, 2012 1:29:24pm

re: #21 Kragar

Liberty Counsel Attorney Says Gay Rights Will Bring About Communist-era Persecution

Its getting where you can't say a homosexual is satanic pedophile without having people call you on it anymore, just like Stalin did.

These kinds of comments make me want to lose it. It's just *twitch*.

The fact that people scold us for being massively bigoted, assbackwards, hateful fucktards is oppressive! It's almost as bad as the way we want to be able to treat fags!

Now excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall.

Kragar Fri, May 18, 2012 1:31:15pm

re: #28 ProGunLiberal

They just want to bully without consequences. It's that damn simple.

Like this asshole for instance:

Rep. Lankford Reiterates Opposition To ‘Special Protections’ For ‘Certain Sexual Behaviors’

Last week, Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) told ThinkProgress that he opposes LGBT nondiscrimination protections, like those that would be afforded by the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, because he believes it should be legal to fire people for their sexual orientation. He explained that he believes being gay is a choice that is simply “behavior-related and preference-related.” Since then, Lankford has embarked on a press tour attacking ThinkProgress for misrepresenting him, choosing to ignore video that confirms his position was quoted and described accurately.

Using this dipshits logic, a business owner could easily fire a heterosexual man for having sex with a woman. After all, being in a heterosexual relationship is behavior and preference related as well if all sexual orientation is based on choice.

Mattand Fri, May 18, 2012 1:35:20pm

re: #28 ProGunLiberal

They just want to bully without consequences. It's that damn simple.

What's amazing is the conversation I had about PC and bullying with the aforementioned buddy.

We were talking about his kids playing sports, and he mentioned one child has a teammate suffering from dwarfism. He then goes on in one sentence to compliment the kids for not ostracizing the girl by complaining of the all "PC" anti-bullying they get in school.

I kept my cool, but bluntly informed him that having been on the receiving end of bullying, I see no problems with teaching kids it's wrong to pick on others for no reason.

Surprisingly, he let it drop. I still can't get over the point he was trying to make: "I'm glad my kids aren't picking on that child thanks to that damn meddling political correctness!" It's like a Bizzaro world Scooby Doo wrap up.

Mattand Fri, May 18, 2012 1:37:49pm

re: #34 Simply Sarah

These kinds of comments make me want to lose it. It's just *twitch*.

Now excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall.

Maybe it was someone going Colbert on the comments section. It's so hard to tell anymore.

simoom Fri, May 18, 2012 1:40:50pm

[Link: www.charlotteobserver.com...]

A trove of evidence collected for George Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial was made public Thursday, including the report that shows the lead detective originally wanted to file manslaughter charges because he said the whole encounter could have been avoided with better judgment and a little dialogue.

But the cache of forensic evidence, autopsy results, documents, audio tapes and police reports also paints a murky portrait of a fight between two people that left a teenager dead, a man facing life in prison, and a community shaken.

Some witnesses contradicted each other and others were flat wrong. Some heard two shots, when only one was fired. A few people saw the man with a red shirt — Zimmerman — on top during the fight, while others saw Trayvon Martin straddling Zimmerman and throwing punches. Still others were convinced it was Trayvon who cried for help, although police disagreed.

...

Other witnesses described Zimmerman as nonchalant after the killing. Two people who said they knew him told police that he was a racist and a bully, once fired from a job for complaining so much about co-workers and bosses.

...

“I feel in my heart … I honestly do believe … that he intended for this kid to die,” one witness said.

One statement came from a Middle Eastern man who said Zimmerman taunted him at work by acting out ventriloquist Jeff Dunham’s “Achmed the Dead Terrorist” character, played by his dummy puppet.

He said Zimmerman was fired in 2008 for filing too many complaints about managers and co-workers. Another woman called police to say Zimmerman was confrontational and “does not like black people.”

Kept from the media were cellphone records for Zimmerman, Trayvon, and a girl Trayvon was chatting with in the moments before his death. Zimmerman’s full medical records from the doctor who examined him the next day were not made public.

Zimmerman’s three statements to police and the video-taped reenactment he did for detectives the day after he killed Trayvon were also withheld, because Florida law says confessions are not public record.

abolitionist Sat, May 19, 2012 9:33:38am

While not everything is known as to what happened that night in February, some things are not in doubt. Yet some details that ARE KNOWN continue to be mis-reported.

Case in point, from Trayvon Martin Witness Believes 'He Intended for This Kid to Die' ABC NewsBy MATT GUTMAN and SENI TIENABESO | ABC News – 17 hrs ago
At 7:11 that night, Zimmerman, a member of the area's neighborhood watch, had called 911 to report a suspicious teenager. Minutes later, the police dispatcher told Zimmerman to stop follwing Martin. Moments later, Zimmerman got out of his car. That's when the two met and Martin was killed.

Nope. NOT "a member of the area's neighborhood watch."
I'll not quibble about whether Z had dialed 9-1-1, but his phone conversation (except for the beginning) with an officer of the Sanford PD was among the audio files released with other 911 audio. That Zimmerman audio clearly indicates that Z had exited his vehicle before he was asked "Are you following him?" and Z replied "Yeah."

A couple other things in this article are newish info to me, and altho just as trustworthy as the above [sarcasm], I find them deeply disturbing:
A woman identified as witness 5 walked out of her home after hearing the altercation to find Zimmerman standing over Martin's body. She said she asked him what was going on and he curtly said just, "Call the police."

The woman told police that Zimmerman, 28, examined Martin's body as he slowly paced back and forth when the police arrived. She watched as they checked the teen's body and turned him over, eventually starting CPR. But he was already dead for five or 10 minutes, she said. [emphasis added]

"I do honestly feel that he intended for this kid to die," witness 5 told investigators.

And at the end of the article,
Witness 3 said the timing was terrible.

"I saw the police arrive. And they were literally like 5 seconds too late -- like right after the gun went off. Like, they were literally that, that, that short a distance late," the witness said.

I agree that the timing was terrible, and find myself still wondering about the men with flashlights apparently searching for something, reported within the first couple minutes after the shooting (according to other 911 audio).

Altho ridiculed for this before, I still must speculate that they may have been searching for a spent shell casing --while Travon lay bleeding out for "five or 10 minutes".

abolitionist Sat, May 19, 2012 11:35:29am

In case I'm being overly subtle here, let me spell out a possible scenario:

GZ chases down TM, confronts him, and an altercation begins. TM tackles GZ. They struggle. At some point, TM pins down GZ.

A narcotics officer-in-residence arrives and instantly recognizes GZ, but obviously does not self-identify as police, so TM doesn't feel any safer. Quite the opposite. TM is then struggling against 2 men instead of just GZ. TM, now totally freaked out, screams for help for a minute or so, while continuing a desperate fight for his life.

As Cool Hand Luke said, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

A second undercover officer arrives about this time, maybe before the next significant event, maybe after.

TM is shot --by GZ according to all reports. But maybe not.

The narcotics officer has a short intense conversation with GZ about what happened. Maybe GZ is advised/coached about what happened.

Very early on, multiple 911 agents assure their callers that there is already "one officer there".

Within about 2 minutes or so of the gunshot, "men with flashlights" were reported (911 audio), apparently searching the grounds for something. Whatever it was seemed to have a higher priority than CPR for the shooting victim.

Sometimes I hate reasonable doubt.

BlazerBeav Sat, May 19, 2012 12:38:03pm

re: #39 abolitionist

Altho ridiculed for this before, I still must speculate that they may have been searching for a spent shell casing --while Travon lay bleeding out for "five or 10 minutes".

Nowhere has any evidence been released that would suggest Trayvon died anything but instantaneously - where is this bleeding out for 5 or 10 minutes coming from? According to the autopsy, the single gunshot pierced his heart - there is no 5-10 minute bleed out in that scenario. I think the ridicule is justified for such tinfoil theories.

abolitionist Sat, May 19, 2012 2:51:49pm

re: #41 BlazerBeav

I concede that Trayvon likely died within seconds of being shot, and may not have bled much. My point was that according to "witness 3" they [police] arrived "literally like 5 seconds too late --like right after the gun went off".

Since they is plural, I take that to mean that at least one of two or more LEO's may have been on site as early as 5 seconds after the gunshot that killed Trayvon --according to witness 3.

The five seconds away I must take with a grain of salt.

My point is, it's close to zero seconds. It could mean that GZ's gun *might* not have been the only one there, within range, when TM was shot.

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