WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder pledged Wednesday that the ongoing federal civil rights inquiry into Trayvon Martin‘s death would be “a thorough and independent review of the evidence.”

“Although I cannot share where current efforts will lead us from here,” Holder said in a speech to the National Action Network, a civil rights group that has been calling for an arrest in the case, “I can assure you that, in this investigation—and in all cases — we will examine the facts and the law.

“If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action,” Holder said. “And at every step, the facts and the law will guide us forward.”

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Late Tuesday, Florida prosecutor Angela Corey said an announcement regarding the state investigation into the Feb. 26 shooting of the black teenager would be made by Friday.

Corey had said that she, not a state grand jury, would decide whether charges would be filed against George Zimmerman, who has told police that he shot Trayvon in self defense.

George Zimmerman:Neighborhood watch captain involved in shooting death of Trayvon Martin

Orlando Sentinel file photo via AP

Holder said that one of the department’s top priorities is preventing and combating youth violence and victimization.

The Justice Department launched an investigation of the Tryavon killing three weeks ago.

Family photoTrayvon Martin was shot and killed in February.

Holder said that Justice Department officials includingTom Perez, the assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, and U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill from Florida have traveled to Sanford to meet with the Martin family, members of the community and local authorities.

Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford, Fla., a gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight.

He wasn’t arrested partly because of Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.

The lack of an arrest has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is Hispanic. Martin was black.

Contributing: Associated Press