In the chaotic aftermath of the September 10 assassination at Utah Valley University, police say George Zinn, 71, rushed toward officers and shouted: “I shot him, now shoot me.”
Dramatic video showed the white-haired man kneeling on the ground before being cuffed and dragged away as stunned students looked on. In the frenzy, his pants slipped to his ankles, leaving him shuffling in boxers. The footage quickly went viral and sparked false claims online that Zinn was the killer.
According to newly released court documents, Zinn later admitted to officers he had not fired the fatal shot. Instead, he allegedly said he wanted to “draw attention away from the real shooter.”
Authorities say the stunt wasted valuable resources and delayed the investigation. Zinn has now been charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
A Long History of Antics
Locals in Utah weren’t surprised to see Zinn back in headlines. Described by the Salt Lake Tribune as a “gadfly,” he has been a fixture at political events and protests for decades.
His record includes around 25 charges, ranging from trespassing to disturbing the peace. In 2013, he was charged for threatening to plant bombs at the Salt Lake City Marathon, ultimately striking a plea deal for probation and mental health treatment.
In 2019, he was arrested alongside younger activists during a violent protest against the Utah Inland Port Authority. And his reputation as a gatecrasher goes back to the 1980s, from sneaking into the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans to being booted from a Tampa hotel during the 2012 RNC.
Just this May, he was arrested again for blocking traffic.
The Main Suspect
While Zinn faces obstruction charges, authorities say the main suspect is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was arrested after his father turned him in.
Robinson has allegedly confessed to friends online, telling a private Discord group: “It was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this. I’m surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators tied Robinson to the rifle used in the killing through DNA evidence found on a towel and a screwdriver at the sniper’s nest. Patel also said Robinson had written that he “had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and he was going to do it.”
He remains under “special watch” in the Utah County Jail’s Special Housing Unit, monitored around the clock after allegedly telling his father he would “rather die than hand himself in.”
A Nation Still Reeling
Kirk, 31, co-founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most prominent young conservative voices in America, was shot in the neck while speaking to students. His funeral is scheduled for September 21 in Arizona, with public figures expected to attend.
The bizarre false confession by Zinn underscores the chaos that followed Kirk’s assassination. It was a moment when panic, misinformation, and decades of one man’s antics briefly clouded the search for justice.