Zimmerman relaunches website, thanks 'the masses'

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

Zimmerman in the post states that his living and security expenses have proved to be much larger than anticipated: “We have been in hiding in temporary housing, and our security needs have been extremely high,” he writes. “The fund has been devastated by the need to pay $100,000 to a bondsman and almost $50,000 in security expenses. The skyrocketing legal costs have gone unpaid. The defense fund is at its lowest point since its inception; in fact, with outstanding expenses yet unpaid, the fund is near depletion.”

O’Mara created a separate site, GZLegalCase.com, back in April, to disseminate information about the case. But Zimmerman indicates his site will do so, too. A previous version of the site drew controversy for including pictures of pro-Zimmerman graffiti scrawled on a black cultural center at Ohio State University.

The new site includes none of the original content. O’Mara confirmed to NBC News that the site is being administered by George Zimmerman. The full text of his letter is below:

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. I want to reach out to each supporter personally, however, the overwhelming support has made that effort challenging. I thank each and every one of you for your support, whether through your hard-earned money, words of encouragement, or most importantly through prayer. I want to tell you why I have created this site. This has been the most difficult time of my life. I have been charged and arrested for murder, I have been accused of being a racist, and my family and I have to live in hiding because of threats against my life. I am not a murderer, and I am not a racist. Rumors and lies about the case and me are rampant on the Internet. I want to set the record straight about some things. I created this website to give me, the real George Zimmerman, a place to do that. This is not my website, this is our website. I am going to use this as a chance to communicate with you and listen to you, and as an opportunity to share important things about the case.

I also want a place where people can send me words of encouragement, and while I wish I didn’t have to ask, a place for those able to donate to my defense fund. I started a defense fund to help pay my living expenses, to help with legal expenses, and help with security expenses as needed. I have had no other means of generating income for five months let alone pay the enormous expenses surrounding this case.

Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this case, we have now realized that it is much larger than we ever thought regarding its extent and cost. We have been in hiding in temporary housing, and our security needs have been extremely high. The fund has been devastated by the need to pay $100,000 to a bondsman and almost $50,000 in security expenses. The skyrocketing legal costs have gone unpaid. The defense fund is at its lowest point since its inception; in fact, with outstanding expenses yet unpaid, the fund is near depletion.

I don’t have the words to express the gratitude that my family and I feel toward you. Thank you for your generosity and your support in the past. We need your help again. It is only through your support that we have come this far and I’m learning there is a long way to go.

Once again, I humbly thank you.

Sincerely,
Your Friend, George

 Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @thereidreport