Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) used social media on Thursday morning to make the entirely false claim that Trayvon Martin was “killed in an act of police brutality.”
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – she further added to her false claim by alleging his death was somehow attributed to “racially motivated violence that plagues our country.”
No sooner was posted it posted than it disappeared, however Breitbart News captured the moment. See below:
🚨BREAKING: Democrat @RepBeatty deletes post falsely claiming Trayvon Martin was "killed in an act of police brutality."
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 27, 2025
Martin was fatally shot by a man whose head he was pounding into a sidewalk. pic.twitter.com/kFrUhdRdJR
As Breitbart News previously reported, Martin was fatally shot in 2012 by a man – identified as neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman – during a physical altercation on a sidewalk.
Witnesses say Martin had ended up on top of Zimmerman and began beating him and pounding his head into the ground. The victim reached into his waistband, pulled out his handgun, and shot Martin in the chest, killing him.
Zimmerman’s story was corroborated by all available evidence, including physical evidence: Martin’s body was undamaged but for the gunshot wound and abrasions on his knuckles from hitting Zimmerman, while Zimmerman’s head had lacerations, two black eyes, and a broken nose.
Zimmerman claimed self-defense. Eventually, prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder, and a jury acquitted him.
