Mistaken Spike Lee Re-Tweet Causes Couple In Their 70s To Leave Home In Fear
March 28 2012, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
A Sanford, Florida couple in their 70s has had to vacate their home abruptly, after a Twitter user mistakenly posted their address as belonging to George Zimmerman, the Sanford neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month.
The tweet gained widespread play when it was re-tweeted by director Spike Lee, causing a flood of negative feedback to the septuagenarian couple, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The couple has relocated to a local hotel, their son Chip Humble told the paper, after receiving harassing mail, media inquiries and concern from neighbors.
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The wife, 70, and husband, 72, have no ties to George Zimmerman, though the woman’s son is named William George Zimmerman, and he lived with her back in 1995 after he finished college.
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William, who lives in Central Florida, told the paper Tuesday, “This is really scary, and I'm concerned for my family: It's scary because there are people who aren't mentally right and will take this information and run with it."
William said when he explained the situation to the accountholder who originally tweeted the address, he received the response: "Black power all day. No justice, no peace" along with obscenities.
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