Moments after the Zimmerman verdict came in, anger arose and a petition to prosecute Zimmerman on Federal charges was started by the NAACP.
The petition collected 225,000 signatures in the hours following the not guilty verdict Saturday night. This outpouring of support caused the website to crash.
The overwhelming support for the petition continued once the site was brought up again and it mirrored the angry comments seen on social media. By noon there were 350,000 signatures collected.
Fears of violence in the streets appear to have been quenched by vigilant police who were prepared to deal with the situation. Crowds gathered in many cities across the country in mostly peaceful gatherings.
Oakland, California police reported some windows smashed downtown, but no arrests were announced. The protesters who numbered at the most in the hundredths, were disbursed successfully.
Everyone seems to have an opinion in the matter, whether in support or disagreement over the verdict.
The petition for the federal prosecution of George Zimmerman by the NAACP is a reflection of high tensions along racial lines.
The prosecution accused Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, of racially profiling Florida teen Trayvon Martin in the events leading to the shooting death of the young man last February.
A jury comprised of six women, five white and one of a minority ethnicity, acquitted Zimmerman on all charges on Saturday creating anger in the African American community and others.
Immediately following the verdict, the NAACP said that it was outraged by the jury’s decisions and called on the Justice Department to prosecute Zimmerman on civil rights violations.
The civil rights organization posted a petition on their website urging supporters to join in their efforts of seeing Zimmerman punished for the death of Martin.
Zimmerman shot and killed Martin in the Sanford, Flroida community, of which he was a neighborhood watchman, on February 26, 2012. He claimed self defense, even though Martin was unarmed. The jury acquitted him of all charges.
