Florida couple sues Spike Lee for tweeting their address as George Zimmerman's

A Florida couple is suing director Spike Lee after he mistakenly posted their address on Twitter as the home address of George Zimmerman.

Lee posted the erroneous information in March 2012 out of frustration at the lack of legal action against Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin the previous month during a confrontation in Sanford, Florida.

The director urged his more than 240,000 Twitter followers to share the address, which actually belonged to Elaine and David McClain – who had no connection to Zimmerman or the Martin case.

Lee’s post was widely shared, and some of those Twitter users implied that they may take violent action against Zimmerman at the address.

The suit notes that Lee quickly realized his mistake and deleted the original post, but tweets that include the McClains’ address continue to appear on Twitter – even as recently as Nov. 10.

The couple entered into a settlement with Lee days after the original post and the director apologized, but the couple’s attorney says the problem has continued.

The suit claims the couple endured persistent threats to their safety, along with a prolonged media and law enforcement presence outside, as well as physical and emotional distress and permanent loss of property value.

The attorney says the lawsuit could be worth more than $1.2 million, but the suit itself shows the couple seeking “in excess of $15,000” in damages.

Zimmerman was not charged after shooting the unarmed teen, who was black, because he claimed self-defense, although he was eventually charged and acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

[Image via Wikipedia Commons]