George Zimmerman selling Trayvon Martin pistol

SANFORD, Fla. -- The pistol former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman used in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin is going up for auction online.

In an interview with Orlando, Florida, TV station WOFL, Zimmerman said he had just gotten the pistol back from the U.S. Justice Department, which took it after he was acquitted in Martin's 2012 shooting death.

"And I thought it's time to move past the firearm," Zimmerman told the station. "And if I sell it and it sells, I move past it. Otherwise, it's going in a safe for my grandkids and never to be used or seen again."

The auction listing on GunBroker.com lists the gun as a 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol. The auction begins Thursday at 11 a.m. and the bidding starts at $5,000.

The auction listing also says a portion of the proceeds will go toward fighting against violence by the Black Lives Matter movement against law enforcement, combatting anti-gun rhetoric of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and ending the career of Angela Corey, who led the prosecution against him.

When asked what he thought of people who would be opposed to auctioning the gun, Zimmerman said, "They're not going to be bidding on it, so I couldn't care less about them."

Zimmerman has said he was defending himself when he shot and killed Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old. The shooting sparked protests and a national debate about race relations.

The attorney for the Martin family, Benjamin Crump, released a statement on behalf of Trayvon's father and the foundation bearing the slain teenager's name:

Zimmerman said he has received death threats but has decided not to cower.

"I'm a free American," he said. "I can do what I want with my possessions."

Zimmerman wrote on the auction page that "many have expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm including The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C."

The Smithsonian Institution denied that claim Thursday, saying in a tweet that it had no interest in acquiring or displaying the gun:

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• George Zimmerman
• Trayvon Martin