78-Year-Old Preacher Named George Zimmermann Gets Death Threats Since Acquittal of Trayvon Martin's Killer
A 78-year-old Methodist preacher from Volusia County, Fla., named George Zimmermann, was forced to call the police on Saturday when one of several harassing calls he's been getting, since the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer, threatened to send him to "a 6 feet hole."
"Hey (expletive) you're the one who killed Trayvon Martin, when your (expletive) get out, you're dead. Wherever you go, you're dead. Wherever you're trying to hide, you're dead," said the anonymous caller in the vitriolic rant noted in a WFTV 9 report.
"Watch your (expletive) move. You think you're free. You're not. You better get ready to dig a 6 feet hole. Cause you know you're fixing to go," the caller added.
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Zimmermann, whose surname has two N's, unlike George Zimmerman's one, said his usually quiet life became a nightmare the night the 29-year-old neighborhood watch captain was acquitted of Trayvon Martin's murder.
"The night of the verdict, I had one at 1 in the morning, which woke me up; was pretty nasty. Another at 3 in the morning," said the Methodist preacher.
He explained that while he understood that people were upset about the verdict, his friends encouraged him to report the call that threatened his life, just in case.
"A couple of friends of mine said, 'Hey, report it. In case anything were to happen at a later date, it's on a record,'" Zimmermann noted.
He is also the only George of 12 Zimmermans listed in his local phonebook and one of two whose surname sports the double N.
When asked how he has been treating the harassing calls, Zimmerman said: "I don't say anything to them except, 'Hey, you've got the wrong guy. The name's spelled differently.'"
What's worse, however, is that even when the preacher has clarified the mix-up, no one has ever apologized to the man of God, and he has handled it with grace.
"I guess if it made them feel better to vent, that's fine. I can live with it," said Zimmermann, who is hoping that the calls will end soon.
In the meantime, a family recently rescued by the real George Zimmerman canceled a press conference on Wednesday, a few hours before it was scheduled to take place at the office of Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara.
Zimmerman reportedly came out of hiding for the first time since his acquittal to help Dana and Mark Gerstle and their two children, who were trapped inside a blue Ford Explorer SUV that had rolled over in an accident on a highway in Sanford, Fla.
A statement from the Seminole City Sheriff's Office on behalf of the family noted: "They have expressed to us that they are not comfortable doing media interviews at this time and they continue to ask for privacy."
