Al Sharpton: 'This Is An Atrocity...a Slap in the Face to Those That Believe in Justice

Rev. Al Sharpton reacted to the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict by calling it an "atrocity" and "a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country."

"I think that this is an atrocity, I think that it is, it is probably one of the worst situations that I have seen," Sharpton said. "What this jury has done is establish a precedent that when you are young and fit a certain profile, you could be committing no crime, just bringing some Skittles and iced tea home to your brother and be killed and someone can claim self-defense, having been exposed with all kinds of lies, all kinds of inconsistencies."

"We had to march to even get a trial and even at trial, when he's exposed over and over again as a liar, he is acquitted. This is a sad day in the country. I think that we clearly must move on to the next step in terms of the federal government and in terms of the civil courts. Clearly we want people to be disciplined and strategic, but this is a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country," he said.

Sharpton also posted this statement:

“The acquittal of George Zimmerman is a slap in the face to the American people but it is only the first round in the pursuit of justice. We intend to ask the Department of Justice to move forward as they did in the Rodney King case and we will closely monitor the civil case against Mr. Zimmerman. I will convene an emergency call with preachers tonight to discuss next steps and I intend to head to Florida in the next few days."

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