U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday said the Justice Department has not decided whether to file federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.



Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman who shot and killed Martin in an incident that captured national interest, was acquitted of murder charges in July. But the Justice Department could still pursue a federal civil rights case.



Holder said the agency’s investigation is under way.

“I'm not sure exactly how much longer that will take, but we will get to a point where we are able to make a determination,” he told reporters at an unrelated news conference at the agency’s headquarters.





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Holder, during an April speech to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, pledged to “take appropriate action” if the agency finds evidence of a potential federal civil rights crime in the Zimmerman case.However, he has since cautioned that the Justice Department faces a “very high barrier” in pursuing federal criminal charges in such cases.On Monday, he noted that the courts had already weighed in Zimmerman’s case."The case of George Zimmerman — and what happens there — I think a substantial part was resolved in the case that was tried," Holder said.