Shit has gotten real and continues to escalate, check this out. In Sanford, Florida today the New Black Panther Party leader, Mikhail Muhammad announced an offer of a $10,000 reward for the "capture" of George Zimmerman, the faux Neighborhood Watch volunteer who infamously killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in cold blood on February 26th.
When asked if he was fanning the flames to incite more violence, Muhammad replied vehemently: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
The announcement of the bounty came only moments after members of the Party called for the mobilization of 5'000 brothas to capture Zimmerman and bring him to justice.
Muhammad said members of his group would search for Zimmerman themselves in Maitland and Jacksonville -- where the 28-year old worked before the shooting, employees there told the Orlando Sentinel. But what he didn't say was when they'll begin their hunt.
Muhammad stated the Party's national chairman, Dr. Malik Zulu Shabaz of Washington, D.C. was currently receiving donations from black entertainers and athletes. Ultimately, Muhammad said they hope to collect $1 million by next week.
The Party made it clear that the names of those donors nor the documentation of the existence of such donations would not be released.
The New Black Panthers announced the reward at a protest in Sanford Saturday, the activist group's third protest in the past two weeks over the fatal shooting of the Miami Gardens teen.
The group called for Zimmerman's arrest and threatened to find and detain him if police were not willing to do so. But party members didn't call for the mobilization of thousands until today.
Muhammed led the group in chanting "Justice for Trayvon!" and "Black Power!"
Muhammad was quoted as saying "If the government won't do the job, we'll do it." leading his group of eight party members in chants like "freedom or death" and "justice for Trayvon" while making the iconic gesture of raising their fists into the air.
The party members said they are tired of the inaction of government officials — from Sanford city officials up to the Governor, accusing them of lying and delaying justice.
They also accused newly-appointed special prosecutor Angela Corley of being an enemy of the black community.
"She has a track record of sending innocent young black men and women to prison," he said.
Sanford police did show up toward the end of the demonstration asking onlookers and media to avoid walking into the street in front of The Retreat at Twin Lakes where Trayvon was killed.
As the officer walked back to his cruiser, Muhammad berated and pointed angrily at him saying "If you'd had shown this much concern, Trayvon may still be alive today."
The fiery rhetoric and often profanity-laden diatribes made some visitors to the impromptu memorial uncomfortable.
Pastor Moses Brown of Tampa expressed his disappointment with the Panthers' approach.
"We believe in a message of justice, not hate," said Brown, who was in town to pray at the memorial and attend the Monday event at Sanford's Civic Center. "We believe justice will come through the court system."
Brown, who is also the Chief executive officer of Feed The Children, stated that he had been meeting with other Christian ministers to discuss the case.
While the Panthers chanted behind him, Brown said "I see parallel versions of how we are coping with this as a community. Some in anger and us, in prayer. But we are in America where we have our rights to expression."
The Southern Poverty Law Center says the New Black Panther Party, a black-separatist group founded in 1989, is "virulently racist and anti-Semitic," and its leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law officers.
Props to Susan Jacobson of the Sentinel staff who contributed to this report. arehernandez@tribune.com
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