George Zimmerman has been associated with many controversial things since fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 – from the Black Lives Matter movement, to conversations about gun laws.
On Thursday, Zimmerman’s name was trending on Twitter once again following news he had posted the gun that killed Martin, an unarmed black teenager, on an auction site called “GunBroker.com.”
READ MORE: Gun used to kill Trayvon Martin removed from auction site
The auction listing – which was removed from the website just minutes before the auction was set to begin – referred to the pistol an “American firearm icon” and “a piece of American history,” sparking widespread outrage.
This is far from the first controversy Zimmerman has faced since being acquitted of second-degree murder of Martin in July 2013.
Shortly after his acquittal, he was pulled over for speeding and let off with a warning. In September 2013, Zimmerman was pulled over for speeding again – this time he was doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone and was issued a ticket.
WATCH: George Zimmerman pulled over again
Less than a week later, Zimmerman’s wife – who had filed for divorce earlier that month – called police alleging he had threatened her and her father with a gun. During a 9-1-1 call, she said Zimmerman punched her father in the nose, grabbed an iPad out of her hand and smashed it and then threatened them both with a gun. He was not arrested over the incident.
In November 2013, he was arrested on domestic violence-related charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief after his girlfriend claimed he choked her. The case was later dropped.
But two years later he was arrested again for allegedly throwing a bottle of wine at his girlfriend; however, that case was also dropped.
Then, in May 2015, Zimmerman suffered minor injuries after a man named Matthew Apperson fired shots at his vehicle. According to Vox, the two men were involved in an altercation in 2014, during which Apperson alleged Zimmerman threatened him saying, “Do you know who I am? I’ll f—ing kill you.”
But legal issues aren’t the only controversy Zimmerman has run into.
WATCH: George Zimmerman wants to auction off pistol used in Trayvon Martin shooting
In 2015, it was reported that Zimmerman referred to U.S. President Barack Obama as a “baboon.”
His Twitter account was also suspended in 2015 after he posted semi-nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend to the social network, along with her contact information. According to the Washington Post, the posts also accused her of having sex with “a dirty Muslim.”
In August 2015, he also stirred up controversy by partnering with a Florida gun shop to sell prints of his painting of the Confederate flag – something many people associate with racial hatred.
The gun shop in question had also come under fire for declaring itself a “Muslim free zone,” according to the Washington Post.
In August 2016, Zimmerman was allegedly punched in the face at a Florida restaurant, after witnesses accused him of bragging about the shooting.
Comments