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 The department said it had not found sufficient evidence that
Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder in state court, intentionally
violated the civil rights of Martin, 17.
The decision comes as the Obama administration faces pressure from
civil rights activists to press charges in other high-profile deaths
that have raised allegations of racial bias.
The Justice Department is investigating a white police officer in
Ferguson, Missouri, who shot and killed unarmed black teenager
Michael Brown, and the New York City police officer involved in the
chokehold death of Eric Garner, another unarmed black man.
Grand juries declined to bring charges in both cases.
Despite national protests over the deaths, federal prosecutors face
a high bar, required to prove the suspect knowingly violated the
victim's civil rights. Criminal murder or manslaughter charges are
often left to states under U.S. law.
To convict a police officer, federal investigators have to show
intentional use of excessive force.
In the case of Zimmerman, a private citizen, they would have had to
prove that he committed a hate crime, meaning he was racially
motivated to kill Martin.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the circumstances of the
Zimmerman case did not meet the "high standard" for a federal hate
crime prosecution.
But Holder added in a statement: "This young man’s premature death
necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of
confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the
surface."
MARTIN'S FAMILY DISAPPOINTED
Martin's family said in a statement it was disappointed, but thanked
the Justice Department for its "extensive and thorough investigation
into the killing of our son."
The investigation by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division
was conducted independently of state efforts, and was put on pause
during Zimmerman's criminal trial, officials said.
Zimmerman's attorney, Don West, said he hoped the decision would
allow his client to "take the steps needed for a more normal life,”
noting his name came up frequently in discussions about the killings
of other unarmed black men.
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Zimmerman said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Martin
in the chest during a confrontation in a neighborhood in Sanford,
Florida, after following and stopping the teenager because he
thought he was suspicious.
In 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The federal investigation was then resumed, Justice Department
officials said.
Investigators said they reviewed all the evidence presented by state
prosecutors and interviewed 75 witnesses.
From the initial encounter through the shooting, the Justice
Department said, it did not find evidence "beyond a reasonable
doubt" that Zimmerman had confronted Martin on account of his race,
knowingly defying the law.
“Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the
shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin and is based
solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases,” Acting
Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division
said in a statement.
That finding prompted Antonio French, a black alderman in St. Louis,
who called for improving racial relations during the protests in
nearby Ferguson, to post on Twitter: "Then we need a new law."
The decision was no surprise to some in Sanford.
"It's not even news to us," said Francis Oliver, a civil rights
activist, standing beside a memorial she helped to build in honor of
Martin and other young black men killed in street violence.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Liston in Sanford, Florida,
Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans and Daniel Wallis in Denver;
Writing by Letitia Stein and Bill Trott; Editing by David Gregorio,
Mohammad Zargham and Peter Cooney)
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