George Zimmerman Donations Soar After Jail Return
George Zimmerman's legal defense fund has reportedly seen a spike in donations since the self appointed neighborhood watch volunteer was ordered back to jail on Friday.
Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara confirmed that the rate of donations, which was averaging approximately $1000 per day, had soared since a Florida judge revoked his bond on Friday, according to ABC News.
The 28-year-old surrendered and turned himself in to Police at Seminole county jail on Sunday after prosecutors revealed that both he and his wife Shellie deceived the court about their financial situation during Zimmerman's bond hearing in April.
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Zimmerman's defense fund raised at least $200,000 after he was charged in 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's death, and has around $193,000 remaining with approximately $20,000 being spent on hotels and security. Yet wife Shellie convinced the court that she and Zimmerman were financially indigent.
Shellie claimed that they were so poor that they had no money to post bail and both she and Zimmerman failed to disclose the funds which they had raised with the legal defense fund.
Prosecutors are reportedly set to release recorded phone conversations between Zimmerman and Shellie while he was in custody, where the couple are allegedly heard trying to conceal their donated funds by speaking in code. However, O'Mara insists it is all one big misunderstanding.
"It's not again like they were trying to hide the money or leave with the money. They just had it...and felt like they needed to secure themselves," O'Mara told ABC.
The Martin family attorney, Benjamin Crump, told CNN that Trayvon's parents are "relieved that the killer of their unarmed, teenage son is back in jail. They have always wanted him to stay in custody until the trial."
Crump also said that the situation of Zimmerman's bond being revoked was a reflection of his "credibility," saying that if Zimmerman lied about his finances, the chances are that he has lied about what really happened the night that he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman's attorneys are expected to file a motion asking a Florida judge for a new bond hearing.
