The Department of Justice has opened a “tip line” for people to send in tips to assist in their effort to build a federal criminal case against George Zimmerman.



In showing little respect for the jury’s “not guilty” verdict in the Zimmerman case, the Justice Department is turning to civil rights groups and others to assist in their civil rights investigation of the case.

Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told the Orlando Sentinel that she was part of a Justice Department conference call on Monday that discussed the matter.

“They were calling on us to actively refer anyone who had any information,” that might build a case against Zimmerman for either a civil rights violation or a hate crime, Arnwine said. “They said they would very aggressively investigate this case.”

She said the call was set up by Tom Perez, an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division of the Justice Department, and included representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and federal prosecutors, according to the Sentinel.

During the call, an email address was given out that people could use to send in “tips” — [email protected].

Interestingly, the FBI conducted its own investigation in 2012 and found that there was no evidence that Zimmerman acted out of racial hatred. In light of this, Monday’s call is a good sign that politics is now driving this issue.

In that regard, Arnwine named other organizations represented on the call, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the ACLU, and several “human relations” groups.

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