Immediately after George Zimmerman was acquitted of all murder charges in the death of Trayvon Martin, the NAACP stepped into action posting a petition onto moveon.org.
In three hours time, the petition received 115,000 signatures. By noon Sunday, that number had doubled. The overwhelming response to the petition even caused the site to crash late last night.
The petition calls for the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a civil rights investigation in the case against George Zimmerman. Created by NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, the petition calls the ‘not guilty’ verdict “egregious” and maintains that the civil rights of Trayvon Martin were indeed violated the night of his death.
The petition, that is addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder, reads, “The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin.” In a helpless plea, the organization asks that Holder “address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.”
The NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, also posted another petition on their site calling for the prosecution of Zimmerman.