Sanford, Florida (CNN) — The national controversy that accompanied the killing of an unarmed black teenager in suburban Orlando showed no signs of abating Friday.
Demonstrators plan to march to the state capitol in Tallahassee, Florida on Friday to protest the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer while walking home from a convenience store.
The death has sparked outrage nationwide.
More than 1.3 million people have signed an online petition urging authorities to file criminal charges against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch leader who has told police he shot Martin in self defense.
On Monday, people angered over the shooting in Sanford, Florida, a city of 50,000 just north of Orlando where the shooting took place, plan to march to the site of a city commissioners’ meeting, said Valerie Houston, pastor of Allen Baptist Church.
Also on Monday, students and civil-rights leaders in Atlanta, Georgia plan to march to the state capitol to protest a Georgia state law similar to Florida’s “stand your ground” statute, which doesn’t require people to retreat from potential danger in public places and instead allows them to meet “force with force” if they believe there is danger of serious harm to themselves or someone else.
The Georgia march organizers are asking participants to wear hoodies and bring Skittles because Martin was wearing a hoodie and had just bought a bag of the candy when he was killed.
Similar rallies are planned in the coming days in Greenville, South Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia, among other places.
Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee announced Thursday he is stepping down “temporarily” as head of the department, which has been criticized for its handling of the fatal shooting
“I am aware that my role as a leader of this agency has become a distraction from the investigation,” he told reporters. “It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. Therefore, I have come to the decision that I must temporarily remove myself from the position.”
He added, “I do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to the city, which has been in turmoil for several weeks.”
The gesture did not mollify Martin’s parents. “I feel that we need an arrest,” his mother, Sybrina Fulton, told supporters at a rally in Sanford, referring to George Zimmerman, the watch leader who has told police he shot Martin in self defense.
