*George Zimmerman is now planning to raise money by auctioning off the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin.
According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Justice recently returned to Zimmerman the Kel Tec 9mm gun that he had used to kill Martin, an unarmed African American teen, on Feb. 26, 2012, according to Gunbroker.com, the website where the weapon is being auctioned.
The killing triggered nationwide civil rights protests and galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement against police killings.
Zimmerman plans to use some of the proceeds to fight the Black Lives Matter movement and challenge presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s gun control policies, the auction website said.
Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the incident, described the weapon as “a piece of American history,” according to the website.
Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watch volunteer at the time of the incident, said the shooting was in self-defense. Martin’s family said the teenager was simply passing through the housing area on his way home from a convenience store.
The one-day auction is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, with bidding starting at $5,000.
“I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American firearm icon. The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin,” he said in the description.
The number from the Martin case is written on the pistol in silver permanent marker and “many have expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm,” he said in the description.
The Trayvon Martin Foundation “has no comment on the actions of that person that murdered Trayvon,” Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, said in a statement.
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