Watch the Zimmerman Trial Get Skype-Bombed By Internet Trolls

Impact

As a former college professor of George Zimmerman was testifying via Skype in court today, several internet users bombarded his testimony by searching prosecutor Rich Mantei's name and calling in. 

Watch the disaster below:

Even Zimmerman's former professor — Scott Pleasants of Seminole State College — couldn't contain his laughter as the calls kept popping up, confusing the court room and delaying testimony in the most high profile case on television today. Pleasants was testifying from Colorado.

Hopefully this can be a lesson to the prosecution and courts everywhere that if you're going to use Skype to get testimony, you should learn how to properly use the settings. If contact with all other users had been shut off beforehand, than maybe the hundreds of thousands of viewers watching the trial wouldn't have successfully gotten through to Mr. Mantei's account for a chance at 15 minutes of fame.

After the internet trolls ruined the Skype testimony, Judge Debra Nelson allowed Pleasants to speak over the phone, which was linked up to a microphone.

Pleasants taught Zimmerman in an online criminal investigations class. His testimony was meant to emphasize Zimmerman's full understanding of Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, which says that you do not have to retreat if you are met with potentially lethal force.

However, school records show that the former neighborhood watch volunteer took a class that explained the self-defense law even though Zimmerman denied he had knowledge of the law in an interview with Sean Hannity. 

The medical examiner, Dr. Valerie Rao, also testified that the cuts on Zimmerman's head were not the result of "great force." 

As the trial continued, the prosecution successfully questioned several members of law enforcement on the stand without interruptions. After today's embarrassing incident, they hopefully learned to not put as much faith and trust in public communication technology.