Political nuisance who told cops 'I shot Charlie Kirk' admits he wanted to HELP real killer escape

Daily Mail UK ^ | September 15, 2025 | Stephen M. Lepore

[Morgana]

The elderly political activist who became the first person detained after claiming he'd shot Charlie Kirk told police he lied in an attempt to let the real killer get away.

George Zinn, a 71-year-old Utah resident, was initially suspected of being the shooter as he was taken into custody moments after Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University last week.

Police documents now claim Zinn - who has several prior arrests for trespassing - admitted to causing a distraction to keep law enforcement away from the shooter, now alleged to be 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

Zinn had repeatedly asked to see his attorney before making the confession.

He was later taken to a hospital to deal with a pre-existing medical condition and made a further disturbing admission, saying he 'wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot.'

Zinn was released from the hospital and then taken to the Utah County Jail after being ordered by a judge Monday to be held without bail, according to Utah Political Watch.

He faces second-degree felony obstruction of justice as police believe they had to take resources away from finding the real killer to attend to Zinn.

The activist had been charged with trespassing as recently as August 22.

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TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: charliekirk; jailbird; kirk; throwthebookathim; utah; zinn

[FreedomPoster]

Spiritually, for sure.

[alexander_busek]

Nobody seems to be wondering why this old kook was at the rally to begin with.

I understand why counterdemonstrators and such (e.g., Antifa) regularly show up at large-scale public rallies and the like to obstruct traffic and generally cause trouble - but by all accounts, this old kook was not interfering with the rally or otherwise creating a disturbance prior to his shameful display.

Then Mr. Kirk is assassinated, and this old kook immediately leaps into action.

Explanation?

Regards,

[Does so]

“One-half the sentence given to the actual perp.”
.
Just his left side...

;)

[butterdezillion]

What’s one-half of the death penalty?

Hanged until half-dead?

[daku]

Activist : someone who takes Activia

[dpetty121263]

Old man would do the World a favor and check out with help...

[jonrick46]

71-years-old, George Zinn, shot himself in the foot with his stupid mischief. It got him a criminal charge of obstruction of justice. A motion was filed on Monday to hold Zinn without bail. His foolish behavior failed to stop the capture of the assassin. It took only 34 hours to track Tyler Robinson down.

[Peter ODonnell]

A. Busek asked for explanation ... guy’s a halfwit.

Not playing with a full deck. The only thing he got right was living in Utah.

[Oscar in Batangas]

Lock him up in the same cell as Tyler.
They deserve each other.

[vivenne]

On top of his pedophile charges.

[vivenne]

He was in the crowd.

[Morgana]

I’ve given thought on what to do with him.

Judge will declare he has “Old-Timers” disease and send him to a nursing home. The thought of that will make him crap his pants in the court room, thus proving the judge correct.

His head nurse is named Mildred Ratched.

I’ll let you all write the rest, know any nursing home horror stories? Who will his room mate be? How bland is the food?

How nuts does he go? I mean prison hits below the belt but nursing home hits pride. Remember that 90 year old woman who killed her 60 year old son because he was going to send her to a nursing home? She would rather go to jail. Judge ended up sending her to a hospice and she ended up dying, there was no trial.

[RoosterRedux]

That's my question.

It is unusual for someone to have the presence of mind to walk up to the police right after a shooting and surrender. In most high-stress events like a shooting, people either panic and run or freeze in place.

For Zinn to step in, immediately claim responsibility, and frame it as “helping the shooter escape” suggests one of three possibilities:

• Prior knowledge or expectation–He already had some awareness of what was planned, which would explain why he was in position to act quickly.

• Impulse with a preexisting mindset–As a longtime political agitator with prior arrests, he may have been primed to act in a dramatic, disruptive way the moment chaos broke out, without literal foreknowledge.

• Unreliable or irrational motive–His later statements (“wanted to be a martyr”) might point to mental instability. His instability (delusions, martyr complex, etc.) may have created that script, allowing him to act with speed and confidence that looks like presence of mind–but is actually the product of irrational thinking.

[FLT-bird]

Charge him with aiding and abetting.

[ncalburt]

Agree.
Fire him in the chamber for assisting in a political assassination. No one with miss this evil crazy .

[Jan_Sobieski]

He wants 3 hots and a cot in prison

[OHPatriot]

Doesn’t matter if the squad is 2 or 3 shooters.

Just use a LARGER CALIBER to compensate for the reduced number of shooters.

[grobdriver]

Charge as accomplice. String him up.

[Mr. Mohasky]

This man’s actions are worse than Dr. Mudd’s, who I believe was hanged for his.

[sport]

Yeah, but we are a kinder, gentler Nation now. Now we coddle , baby and release our murders to kill again and again not execute them.