A 71-year-old Utah political activist who was the first person detained after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University told police he lied about being the shooter in an effort to distract authorities and help the actual gunman escape, according to court and law-enforcement accounts.
George Zinn was taken into custody moments after the shooting and initially told officers he had shot Kirk, 31, who died after being struck in the neck during a Turning Point USA event on the Orem campus. Police later clarified that Zinn was not the shooter and identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the alleged gunman. Zinn told officers he had fabricated the claim to draw attention away from the shooter, authorities said.
Police documents indicate Zinn repeatedly asked to see an attorney before making the statement to investigators. He was later taken to a hospital to address a pre-existing medical condition and, according to the reports, told officials he "wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot." After his hospital release, a judge ordered Zinn held without bail on a second-degree felony obstruction of justice charge, on the theory that his false statements forced officers to divert resources that could have been used to find the actual shooter.
Local prosecutors and residents identified Zinn as a long-time, sometimes disruptive presence at political events in Utah. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the Salt Lake Tribune his office had prosecuted Zinn on numerous occasions dating to the 1980s, often on misdemeanor trespassing charges. Gill described Zinn as a persistent fixture at rallies and public gatherings and said his office had previously sought to enroll Zinn in mental health court, a program Zinn did not engage with.
Zinn's criminal history includes a 2013 case in which he pleaded guilty after being accused of threatening to plant bombs at the finish line of the Salt Lake City Marathon; he initially received probation but later served a year in jail for violating that probation. He also has been arrested for trespassing at public events as recently as August.
Investigators said they arrested Robinson roughly 33 hours after the shooting and recovered a high-powered hunting rifle in a wooded area near the university. FBI Director Kash Patel said DNA on a towel wrapped around the rifle matched Robinson, and that DNA evidence also linked Robinson to a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired. The FBI said it recovered a note that Robinson had apparently written before the shooting in which he said he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and intended to do so; the director said agents were able to reconstruct the note's contents after it had been destroyed. Officials also said Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement.
Federal and local authorities released photos and descriptions of a man they sought in the days after the shooting, and law-enforcement officials said two people detained early in the investigation were later released as not connected to the case. Authorities said they credited the alleged killer's family members with helping lead to the arrest.
Utah law allows capital punishment for certain murders; the state’s policy and political leaders have periodically referenced the death penalty in public statements about violent crimes. Meanwhile, prosecutors have charged Robinson in the killing, and the investigation into the shooting and the sequence of events on the Utah Valley campus is ongoing.
Witnesses at the scene captured video of Zinn being detained and confronted by bystanders. In one clip, a police officer is heard saying Zinn had claimed he shot Kirk but that the officer was unsure. After authorities identified Robinson as the suspect, attention turned to the motive, the weapon recovery and forensic evidence tying the arrested 22-year-old to the scene.
Court proceedings for Zinn and for Robinson are scheduled in the coming days, and prosecutors have said they will continue to present evidence gathered by local detectives and federal agents. Police and FBI officials asked anyone with additional information to come forward as the case moves through the judicial process.