Trayvon Martin: Spike Lee ‘deeply’ apologizes for retweeting wrong Zimmerman address

In the Twitterverse, waiting a few hours to apologize may seem like an eternity. But Spike Lee has done it.

The director yesterday was one of countless micro-bloggers to amplify the threats of violence against a Florida couple whose home address was mistakenly identified by a Los Angeles man as that of Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman.

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At 9:30 pm, New York time, the couple were already in hiding when Lee tweeted:

As of this morning, Lee maintained a following of 253,593 Twitter users. Lee has also re-tweeted a torrent of racist abuse directed his way in recent days, some specifically reacting to his position in on the Trayvon Martin case.

Apparently using public records, the Twitter user Marcus Davonne Higgins identified the home of David and Elaine McClain, an elderly couple in their 70s, as that of George Zimmerman, who has drawn national outrage for claiming self-defense in shooting the unarmed teenager Martin.

Higgins has also apologized. The Orlando Sentinel reports today that the McClain’s have hired a law firm, Morgan & Morgan, to represent them.

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"At this point, they have retained us to protect their interests" and their safety, attorney Matt Morgan was quote as saying.

View all of our Trayvon Martin coverage.