George Zinn, a 71-year-old Utah political activist, was identified Thursday as the man detained in the chaotic immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at a campus event in Orem, Utah. Authorities say Zinn was initially taken into custody moments after the shooting, was cleared by investigators as not being the shooter, and was later charged with obstruction before being released.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. Early reports that a suspect was in custody were later reversed by officials as investigations continued into the identity of the gunman and the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Video that circulated widely on social media showed an elderly man being detained as bystanders shouted at him and accused him of being the shooter. Separate footage captured the man telling the crowd to "shoot me," and an officer at the scene was recorded saying, "he said he shot him, but I don't know," according to reporting by the Salt Lake Tribune. Police later clarified the man they detained was not the person who fired the fatal shot.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the Tribune that the man arrested is George Zinn, a longtime presence at political events around Utah. Gill said his office has prosecuted Zinn on numerous occasions dating back to the 1980s, describing him as a libertarian conservative who often attends protests and public events. "By and large, he's more of a gadfly than anything else," Gill said, while also characterizing Zinn as someone who can display "odd behavior challenges."
Prosecutors have previously sought alternatives to incarceration for Zinn, Gill said, noting his office attempted to enroll him in mental health court for past misdemeanor charges but that he did not participate.
Zinn's criminal history includes a 2013 case in which he pleaded to charges after authorities said he threatened to plant bombs at the finish line of the Salt Lake City Marathon. He initially received probation and was later ordered to serve a year behind bars after violating that probation, officials said. More recent encounters with law enforcement cited by local reporting include a January trespassing detention at the Sundance Film Festival and a misdemeanor pedestrian-in-roadway charge in May.
In the officer's report from the May traffic-related incident, an officer said Zinn "stated he didn't care if the vehicles waited all day" and that when told to move to the sidewalk he responded that he did not care and to take him to jail, according to the Tribune. Local residents and officials said Zinn is often visible at rallies, political speeches and public meetings across the state.
After Zinn was detained at the scene of Kirk's shooting, bystanders verbally assaulted him and he was taken into custody by law enforcement. Authorities subsequently cleared him of involvement in the shooting, and he was charged instead with obstruction — an allegation that he distracted officers during the response to the attack — and released pending further legal proceedings, according to court records and local officials.
Investigators continue to search for and identify the individual or individuals responsible for the shooting at the Turning Point event. Local and federal authorities are coordinating parts of the inquiry, and officials have not released details on a suspect or motive while the investigation is active.
The shooting has drawn national attention given Kirk's profile as the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization, and because it occurred on a university campus. Law enforcement officials have urged anyone with information or additional footage of the incident to contact investigators as they piece together a timeline of events and the actions of those on the scene in the minutes before and after the shooting.