An ugly story may be getting uglier.
The Blaze, a right-wing site started by Glenn Beck, has a post up insinuating that Trayvon Martin may have been a dangerous criminal.
Martin, who was black, was walking back to his father's house after a trip to the convenience store in Sanford, Fla. on February 26. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member who was identified by his father as Hispanic, called 911 and told the dispatchers that the teen "looked suspicious."
Despite being told by the dispatchers not to engage the teen, Zimmerman left his car and approached Martin. Neighbors called into 911 to report a scuffle, some cries for help, and gunshots. When police arrived, Zimmerman admitted to shooting Martin, who was unarmed, but claimed that he acted in self-defense. Zimmerman has not been arrested or charged, and the incident has attracted national attention.
“I can’t for the life of me understand how they can justify not making an arrest!” Sharpton said on a recent episode of his MSNBC show, "Politics Nation."
But Mytheos Holt, an associate editor at the Blaze, chided Sharpton "for being too willing to exploit racial controversy" and for dismissing claim of self-defense Zimmerman. Holt went further and criticized Trayvon Martin by insinuating that the slain teen was a troublemaker.
We’re also learning more about Trayvon Martin. According to reporters he had been suspended from school. The International Business Times says Martin’s suspension was due to last for 10 days. But what exactly was he suspended for in the first place? Sources sympathetic to Martin say he was suspended for “excessive tardiness.” However, a quick review of both the local policies for Martin’s school, the Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, and of the Miami-Dade school district’s district-wide policies, raise some doubts.
Holt went on to enumerate the many infractions which can lead to a student being suspended in that school district — including theft, sexual harassment, vandalism or sex offenses. No reports have suggested that Martin was suspended for anything other than lateness. Holt did not explain in his post why he assumed that these hypothetical infractions were likely.
The sentiment that Martin was up to no good was echoed in the comments of the post, but they were less extreme than those found on the website of Fox News.
"GOOD SHOT ZIMMY. lol" wrote one commenter. "i’m just glad Zimmerman didnt miss and hit an innocent bystander," said another.
This is pure B.S I want to see the kids police record even if something is expounged also why was he removed from facebook it says account terminated.Why because his parents are trying to cover his tracks just like if you hit a bus they see Dollar signs.People have dragged data about Zimmerman out where is the kids past.Don’t say he was a good boy prove it.Ask yourself what is more likely to happen any 17 year old kid when you ask a question.A smartass reply I have never and I mean never seen a teenager run unless he did something wrong.I guess no crinimal has ever cased a place when they went to a store.It takes me aback the way all these facts are quoted by people who read one story on a issue.
The above comments were flagged by the blog LittleGreenFootballs.
Though the Martin case has become a major national news story, Fox News has dedicated relatively little airtime to covering it. As of Monday at noon, the network had aired just one segment on the case, compared to 41 segments on CNN and 13 on MSNBC.