George Zinn, a 71-year-old Utah political activist who was the first person detained after Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University event, told police he lied about being the shooter in an effort to divert law enforcement from the actual attacker, according to police records. Zinn was ordered held without bail Monday and is facing a second-degree felony obstruction of justice charge for allegedly causing authorities to redirect resources away from finding the shooter.
Kirk, 31, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck during the event and later died from his injuries, officials have said. Authorities initially took Zinn into custody moments after the shooting amid chaotic scenes on the Orem campus, then reversed an early notice that said a suspect was in custody. Zinn repeatedly asked to see his attorney before making the statements investigators now cite, and he was later taken to a hospital for a pre-existing medical condition, where he told officers he had wanted to be "a martyr for the person who was shot," police documents say.
Investigators have identified and arrested a separate suspect in the killing. Police arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson on Friday in connection with the shooting after a 33-hour investigation that included public appeals to identify a man seen in photos taken near the scene. Officials said they recovered a high-powered hunting rifle in a wooded area near the university and that DNA testing matched genetic material found on a towel wrapped around the rifle to Robinson. The FBI also said DNA linked Robinson to a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the shot was fired.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News that investigators had recovered the contents of a written note Robinson left before the shooting, which the director said indicated Robinson believed he had an opportunity to "take out" Kirk and intended to do so. Patel said investigators were able to reconstruct the note after Robinson attempted to destroy it. The FBI has said Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement.
Officials said the arrest followed tips and investigative work, and authorities credited help from the suspect's family in locating him. Local and federal authorities released photos and descriptions of a man wearing a baseball cap and casual clothing shortly after the shooting and appealed to the public for assistance in identifying him.
Zinn was seen in widely circulated footage being detained as witnesses shouted at him. The Salt Lake Tribune reported a police officer at the scene saying, "he said he shot him, but I don't know," and other bystanders verbally confronting the man as he was taken away. After law enforcement concluded Zinn was not the shooter, residents identified him as a longtime presence at political events across Utah. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the Tribune his office has prosecuted Zinn on numerous occasions dating back to the 1980s and described him as a frequent gadfly at public events.
Gill told the Tribune that many of Zinn's past arrests were for trespassing and said the prosecutor's office had sought to place him in mental health court for prior misdemeanor matters that he did not engage with. Zinn's criminal history, as reported by officials, includes a 2013 case in which he pleaded guilty after allegedly threatening to plant bombs at the finish line of the Salt Lake City Marathon; he was initially given probation and later served a year in jail after violating probation. He also was arrested in January on suspicion of trespassing after allegedly attempting to enter the Sundance Film Festival while banned from the event.
A judge in Utah County ordered Zinn held without bail on the obstruction charge, which investigators say stemmed from the resources and time law enforcement had to expend responding to his false claim. Police said they had detained and then released two other people who were unconnected to the shooting as the inquiry continued.
Robinson's arrest moves the investigation to the next phase of criminal proceedings. Utah law allows capital punishment for certain murder convictions, a penalty former President Donald Trump has said he would like imposed in the Kirk killing. Prosecutors have not publicly announced the full slate of charges they plan to bring against Robinson, and court filings indicate law enforcement is continuing to develop the evidence gathered at the scene and during the follow-up investigation.
The shooting has prompted scrutiny of security at political events and renewed debate about safety for public figures. Local officials and the FBI have said they will continue to pursue leads and evidence as the case proceeds toward prosecution.