Posted on 04/27/2012 9:13:03 AM PDT by Beaten Valve
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of wrongly killing Trayvon Martin, will not immediately have to turn over donations to his website, a Florida judge said Friday.
Zimmerman collected about $204,000 in donations through the website, but did not disclose the contributions during his bond hearing last week, according to Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara.
O'Mara said he learned about the money on Wednesday and he and Zimmerman were trying to shut down Zimmerman's website, Facebook page and Twitter account to avoid concerns about possible impersonators and other problems.
"He asked me what to do with his PayPal accounts, and I asked him what he was talking about," O'Mara told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday. "He said those were the accounts that had the money from the website he had. And there was about ... $204,000 that had come in to date."
Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda asked Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. to increase Zimmerman's $150,000 bond. But the judge said he would delay ruling on the request, in part because he does not know if he has the authority to do so.
Lester said he is also concerned about revealing the names of donors.
"I'm not going to make a snap decision," Lester said.
Zimmerman's family testified last week at his bond hearing that they did not have the kind of resources that would have been necessary to meet the prosecution's suggested $1 million bond.
Zimmerman, 28, was released Monday on $150,000 bail, 10% of which his family put up to secure his release while he awaits trial on a second-degree murder charge in Martin's February 26 death.
Although Zimmerman spent some of the contributions on living expenses, about $150,000 remains, O'Mara said Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
hope folks do not pile on george
54,000 for a few weeks living expenses??
He could be putting up legal retainers and such.
"Hey, dude!, you're about to crack open my skull on this sidewalk!"
"Oh, wait, you're black. Carry on!"
Do you have any idea how difficult and expensive it is to line up multiple secure locations for yourself and your family?
Would you want to sit around your apartment or in Motel 6, unarmed, and watch as your family get attacked right before you get killed?
What does a legal defense fund have to do with bail? Apples and oranges.
>> Lester said he is also concerned about revealing the names of donors.
I’m proud to have donated to George Zimmerman.
And if some Holder’s SOB comes after me or my family because of it, well, I’ll be proud to take care of ‘em in accordance with TEXAS castle-doctrine and self defense laws.
Trade places with him. Think of the money you could make.
He was/is in hiding. I’m sure he had to buy a lot of new stuff for this.
Also, he has to pay $8.00/d for his GPS bracelet (heard this on the news).
He probably also had to pay for his previous legal advice lawyers.
Stuff adds up.
I figure this could happen to any of us any time self defense requires lethal force.
The "progressives" don't think that right should exist.
Are u a Dem troll or just naive ,
Legal retainers ,
24-7 security
PR advice to fight the Al and Jesse media assault. !
If this happened to you do you have the means to fight it?
We owe GZ thanks.
The persecutors want to limit zimmy’s finances for his defense.
That does not sound excessive at all to me. Security is probably very expensive, plus living on the run and in hiding can not be cheap.
If he can set up a fund in his father's name, so he will be technically indigent, and the state will pay for his attorney, I would be happy to contribute again and again to such a fund.
The government, who allowed this fiasco to escalate out of control, should be on the hook for his legal defense, and in a just world should be paying for his living expenses in hiding, and for round the clock security with 3 or 4 armed guards at every moment, plus a secure perimeter. Why no arrests of the bounty posters? But, the government is not going to pony up one thin dime for his living expenses or security. As far as they are concerned, if he is beaten to death by a mob, it would be a great outcome.
So, it is up to his friends and supporters to help Mr. Zimmerman. It will be years before he sees a nickel from NBCX, CBS, etc, but he still has to live during that time. Even if the charges are dropped, he will need constant protection.
Think about his townhouse. He can't live in it, and it is not really salable. Would you live at a address where a black mob could show up at any moment? I didn't think so. OTOH, the mob didn't tear up his mortgage. The bank still wants their payment. Think about what would happen to you if your house became unlivable and unsellable, but your payments continued.
Showing great courage and a real sense of morality, his employer fired him. He has no steady income, and who would hire him, even years from now?
If all the conservatives on FR contributed a few bucks each, we could help Zimmerman and stick a collective finger in the eye of the racist media and the racist government.
I think the point is to make it enough of a burden that they are not tempted to run.
..and decoy vehicle rentals
Concur.
Damned decent of hiz zonner to graciously allow Zimmerman to keep the money people freely gave him. Damned decent.
That possibility is a threat to scare away donors.
“.....I’m proud to have donated to George Zimmerman.....”
**********************************************************
And you deserve to feel proud for helping out someone being put upon by the establishment for having the audacity to actually defend himself.
And by the way, despite whatever the Martins’ attorneys may say, these donations are “gifts” and, as such, are not taxable to Zimmerman.
how would one do that?
".....but a street scum rapist killer who has been to prison for 30 rapes, 5 murders, 20 assaults and 25 grand thefts, WHO IS ON WELFARE, should get a $50 bond?"
Yeppers.... $50 will definitely NOT tempt my fictitious street scum to run. GOD forgive that he would sacrifice $50 whole American dollars to keep out of jail on a rape and murder charge.
The two TV Dead Beat Lawyers said on TV that they sent him retainment papers for him to sign. They then said he never returned them.
Sounds to me they should not get a dime.
lol
no one should be getting $50 bonds.
But the extremely rich should have to pay more for their “refundable” bonds to help ensure they don’t skip the country.
So, here’s my question: Did Zimmerman/lawyer lie or withhold information at the time his original bail hearing was held?
Touché!
>> http://www.therealgeorgezimmerman.com/
For awhile, he had a website up where you could donate via PayPal. I think it was http://www.therealgeorgezimmerman.com/
(but don’t hold me to that URL, I may be mistaken.)
However, that particular site has been taken down.
Note that in the OP it said his attorney was planning to take the personal site down.
OK— answered my own question, I think. Zimmerman himself knew about the money (?) on the day of the bond hearing, but the lawyer did not. The judge certainly doesn’t seem upset about it.
Maybe... then again, "all the conservatives on FR" together can't seem to get a @#$%^&* Freepathon ended within a month. :-(
So I'm not sure Zimmerman could get by just on us cheapskates...
I would not trade places with for any amount of money. Best he could do after trial is move to Idaho.
That’s for darned sure.
Why would he had to disclose it? He doesn’t have a public defender.
I would not trade places with for any amount of money. Best he could do after trial is move to Idaho.
That’s for darned sure. ;^)
O’Mara has estimated that Zimmerman’s defense costs will reach 7 figures.
Meanwhile the state of Florida has taxpayers to pay the cost of persecuting Z.
And while Z has raised some $200,000 - how much has been spent by Martin’s family for that racist Crump? And we know Jesse and Al don’t run for free either.
You know that oblamer and holder don’t want George to be able to pay for security and his legal defense.
They and the professional rabble rousers need to back off - we know a rail roading when we see one.
I pray that's true. They don't deserve a penny from Mr Zimmerman.
Are u a Dem troll or just naive , Legal retainers , 24-7 security PR advice to fight the Al and Jesse media assault
Yeah. I’ve been a dem troll for 12 years. If you bothered to read the article, it said he spent 54,000 prior to his arrest. If I we’re him, id buy a sailboat and put it in a bay and have food delivered.
I just drove past Crumps office and spit on his lawn.
I'm sure Judge Lester would be pleased with Z living in a transportation device...with or without the GPS monitor.
At least holders people can’t afford the device to reach him. :0) welfare doesn’t buy boats..
I’d grab a boat, too. And rearm if possible.
Here in Florida, if you go with a bail bondsman you waive bye-bye to the 10%. For GZ either he & his family paid in $15,000 cash or the bondsman is up $15K. Bond is “non-refundable”. I don’t recall reading whether he bonded out.
Just a FEW of Trayvon Martin’s family’s websites for cash donations:
https://www.wepay.com/donations/3819
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8SNLtaalck
“The Nation of Islam gave $5,000, a couple of organizations gave $500, scores of people gave $100 and then the audience walked around the church to put their donations into large buckets.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanya-young-williams/trayvon-martin-rally-la_b_1458052.html
Washington DC fundraiser:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/stars-for-trayvon-to-raise-legal-funds-for-trayvon-martins-family/2012/04/25/gIQAwTTlgT_blog.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.