Spike Lee sued for $15,000 by elderly Florida couple forced to flee their home after he tweeted THEIR address instead of George Zimmerman's



A Florida couple are suing director Spike Lee for a tweet he posted in a fit of pique that claimed falsely their address was where George Zimmerman lived.



Last year, the Oscar nominated film maker posted the incorrect tweet to his 240,000 followers causing an avalanche of hate mail for Elaine and David McClain who eventually had to move out of their home because of harassment.



While the McClain's originally settled and received an apology from Lee in March 2012, their lawsuit is now claiming $15,000 for the continued re-tweeting of the address online which caused 'a dangerous mob mentality among his Twitter followers' and the public.

Forced to flee: David and Elaine McClain pictured with their lawyer had to leave their Sanford, Florida home after director Spike Lee incorrectly tweeted their address for George Zimmerman's last year

The McClains believe they were caused 'substantial injury' by Lee's original tweet and the couple claim they are having trouble sleeping and are anxious and fearful.



Error: Spike Lee apologized to the McClain's last year but the elderly couple have still decided to sue him for tweeting their address instead of George Zimmerman's

They also allege that their home has decreased in value because of the adverse publicity that Lee brought their way.



In March of 2012, Lee apologized to the elderly McClains after they were forced to leave their home following the director's fit of pique which saw him post the incorrect address in the first place.



Elaine and David McClain, who are in their 70s, do have a son named William George Zimmerman who lived in their Sanford-area home in the mid-1990s.



However, he is no relation of 289-year-old George Zimmerman who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26 last year.



That murder kicked off widespread public outrage and protests across the country, including from Lee and other celebrities, because Zimmerman was not arrested at the time.



Zimmerman was eventually found not guilty of second degree murder - a result which set off another round of incredulity from the public and media.



In his apology, Lee tweeted, 'I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address. It Was A Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's In Peace.'

Not enough: Spike Lee's tweet in which he apologized for tweeting the incorrect address of David and Elaine McClain last year

The school-cafeteria lunch lady, 70, and her 72-year-old husband had received repeated visits from reporters and neighbors after their address was posted on Twitter.

The man and his wife, who has heart problems, had to be relocated to a hotel to avoid further trouble.

Anger: Tensions were extremely high across the nation following the shooting of Trayvon Martin (left) by George Zimmerman in February 2012



Lee faced considerable backlash for the retweeting of the alleged whereabouts of Zimmerman, who had an outstanding $10,000 bounty on him by the New Black Panthers.

