An elderly political activist who was the first person detained after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University told police he lied about firing the shot to allow the real shooter to flee, according to court and police records.
George Zinn, 71, of Utah, made the admission after initially telling officers at the scene that he had shot Kirk, who was struck in the neck while speaking at a Turning Point USA event on the university campus. Authorities later concluded Zinn was not the gunman and identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the alleged shooter; Robinson was arrested about 33 hours after the attack, officials said.
Police reports say Zinn told investigators he had fabricated the confession to create a distraction so the shooter could escape. Records show Zinn repeatedly asked to see an attorney before making the statement and was later taken to a hospital for a pre-existing medical condition. While hospitalized, he told officers he "wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot," the papers say. A judge on Monday ordered Zinn held without bail, and he was booked into the Utah County Jail on a second-degree felony obstruction-of-justice charge, according to court filings.
Authorities recovered a high-powered hunting rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the university and have released photos of a man they say is the suspect. FBI Director Kash Patel said DNA on the towel matched Robinson, and investigators also linked Robinson by DNA to a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired. Patel told Fox News that Robinson had written in a note before the shooting that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it; investigators said they were able to recover the contents of the note after it had been destroyed. Officials said Robinson has not been cooperating with investigators.
Local law enforcement described the arrest of Robinson as the culmination of an intensive multi-agency investigation that included the FBI. Authorities asked for public help early in the probe by releasing images of a man in casual clothing and a baseball cap who they said was captured on surveillance footage leaving the rooftop area shortly after the shooting. Officials said cooperation from the suspect's family helped lead to the arrest.
Zinn, who was detained moments after the shooting, was confronted by witnesses at the scene and was seen on video drawing the ire of the crowd. After authorities reversed an early notice that suggested they had a suspect in custody, they identified Zinn as a longtime, if minor, presence at political events in Utah. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said his office has prosecuted Zinn on numerous occasions dating to the 1980s and described him as a libertarian conservative who often attended rallies and public events.
Gill said prosecutors had previously tried to divert Zinn into mental health court for misdemeanor offenses, but that he did not meaningfully engage with the program. Zinn's criminal history includes multiple trespassing arrests and a 2013 case in which he pleaded to charges after threatening to plant bombs at the finish line of the Salt Lake City Marathon; he violated probation in that matter and served a jail term. He was also arrested in January on suspicion of trespassing after attempting to enter the Sundance Film Festival, from which he had been banned.
The shooting unfolded during an afternoon event at the university. Police and campus security initially detained two people who were later released as unconnected to the case, officials said. Investigators said they worked through evidence from the rooftop, the recovered weapon and DNA results to identify Robinson as the suspect.
Utah law provides for capital punishment for certain killings, a penalty that has been cited in national discussions of politically motivated violence. Federal and local investigators have not publicly disclosed formal charges against Robinson beyond the announcement of his arrest in connection with the killing. Authorities have also declined to detail motive beyond the evidence cited by Patel regarding the suspect's note and the recovered items linked by DNA.
The investigation remains active. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.