George Zimmerman Files Lawsuit Against Trayvon Martin's Family

BARTOW, FL — Former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty six years ago in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Martin's family, prosecutors, a prominent civil rights attorney and a book publisher, claiming that a key witness in the case was not the person she claimed to be.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, claims that 16-year-old Brittany Diamond Eugene was the actual phone witness and girlfriend of Trayvon Martin and not 18-year-old Rachel Jeantel, who testified during Zimmerman's 2013 trial.

The racially charged case raised new questions about racial profiling and self-defense. Jurors heard dueling portraits of Zimmerman during the three-week trial.

The prosecution attempted to portray Zimmerman as a wannabe cop who took the law into his own hands, while the defense portrayed him as a well-meaning volunteer who shot Martin because he feared for his life. The February 2012 confrontation took place in a gated community where Martin was visiting his father and father's fiancee.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder, but the jury also was allowed to consider manslaughter.

In a statement on behalf of himself and Martin's parents, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump called the 36-page complaint "unfounded and reckless." He said it was a "shameless" attempt to profit off the grief of others.

"This plaintiff continues to display a callous disregard for everyone but himself, revictimizing individuals whose lives were shattered by his own misguided actions," Crump said. "He would have us believe that he is the innocent victim of a deep conspiracy, despite the complete lack of any credible evidence to support his outlandish claims."

Zimmerman's attorney, Larry Klayman, had planned a news conference Thursday in South Florida to discuss the complaint. The lawsuit was filed in Polk County because that is where Zimmerman is now living.

Klayman, a conservative activist who founded the group Judicial Watch, had planned to screen a film by conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert detailing the allegations in the lawsuit. But the venue, Coral Gables Art Cinema, tweeted Wednesday that it was canceling the rental arrangement, saying it had been unaware of the details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.