By
Chris Good
@c_good
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Jul 14, 2013 5:19pm
WASHINGTON — President Obama called on Americans to observe “calm reflection” after a Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The White House has rarely commented on the George Zimmerman trial even as it captured national attention. On Saturday, the jury reached its decision, clearing Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
“I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken,” Obama said, in a written statement released by the White House press office. “I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son.”