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George Zimmerman on Thursday tried to auction off the gun he used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager, in February 2012.
Zimmerman was later acquitted of murder.
Zimmerman, 32, said he was selling what he called a “piece of American history.”
The first auction site on which the gun was displayed deleted the entry. It later appeared on a different site. The bids Friday morning topped $65 million. It is unclear if the bids are legitimate.
“The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012,” Zimmerman wrote, according to the auction site. “Now is your opportunity to own a piece of American History. Good Luck.”
In the former item description, Zimmerman also said the Smithsonian expressed interest in the gun for a museum, but the Smithsonian said Thursday morning that was not true.
We have never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman’s firearm, and have no plans to ever collect or display it in any museums
— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) May 12, 2016
The gun is a Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm, according to the auction site. The opening bid was $5,000.
Zimmerman said a portion of the proceeds from the sale would go toward fighting “Black Lives Matter violence against law enforcement officers.”
Later Thursday, Zimmerman’s Twitter account was also suspended. No reason was given.
A request for comment from the original auction site was not immediately returned.
May 13, 6 a.m.: Story updated with bids exceeding $65 million.
May 12, 2:45 p.m.: Story updated with information that the new auction site is down.
May 12, 9:10 a.m.: Story updated with the information that the auction page was removed.
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