{"id":2487089,"date":"2025-09-16T10:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-arrested-immediately-after-charlie-kirk-assassination-was-trying-to-help-the-shooter-prosecutors\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:48:13","slug":"man-arrested-immediately-after-charlie-kirk-assassination-was-trying-to-help-the-shooter-prosecutors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-arrested-immediately-after-charlie-kirk-assassination-was-trying-to-help-the-shooter-prosecutors\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Arrested Immediately After Charlie Kirk Assassination Was Trying to Help the Shooter: Prosecutors"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-arrested-immediately-after-charlie-kirk-assassination-was-trying-to-help-the-shooter-prosecutors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2487089&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A 71-year-old man named George Zinn was the frist person arrested at the scene after conservative figure Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University. Although initially suspected, police later determined Zinn had no direct involvement in the shooting. He was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice, a second<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/individual-autonomy-parent-seeking-to-marry-adult-child-sues-to-overturn-ny-anti-incest-laws\/\" title=\"\u2018Individual Autonomy\u2019: Parent Seeking To Marry Adult Child Sues To Overturn NY Anti-Incest Laws\">-degree felony<\/a>, after falsely claiming he was the shooter to divert attention from the real perpetrator. Zinn reportedly told police he wanted to be a martyr for kirk. He has a long history of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reports-red-flag-laws-result-in-66-firearm-confiscations\/\" title=\"Reports: Red flag laws result in 66 firearm confiscations\">criminal behavior<\/a> and has been known for disruptive actions at political events. The Salt Lake County District Attorney described him as eccentric but primarily a nuisance rather than a serious threat.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The first man arrested after conservative icon Charlie Kirk was shot dead last week has now been locked up on charges.<\/p>\n<p>George Zinn, 71, was taken away from Utah Valley University by <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >police immediately<\/a> after Kirk was gunned down, but officials later said he had no connection to the crime.<\/p>\n<p>Zinn was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nurse-reportedly-punished-warning-doctor-openly-supported-bloody-kirk-assassination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrested<\/a> on suspicion of obstruction of justice, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc4.com\/news\/charlie-kirk-shooting-obstruction-of-justice-arrest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KTVX-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Zinn was admitted to a hospital on the day of the shooting. He was released Monday and locked up in Utah County Jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice in a capital first-degree felony case. The charge is a second-degree felony.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&ldquo;I shot him, now shoot me&rdquo; &ndash; George Zinn<\/p>\n<p>There were too many people in that audience who wanted Charlie Kirk dead, including this political agitator and nut job.<\/p>\n<p>Make no mistake, in the aftermath of a shooting, especially one in a venue like this, there is mass chaos. LE did a&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hej7jHC5R5\">pic.twitter.com\/Hej7jHC5R5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CoffindafferFBI\/status\/1967923278351040968?\">September 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In an affidavit, Utah Valley University Police Detective Michael Dutson said Zinn approached him after Kirk was shot, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ksltv.com\/local-news\/utah-man-who-falsely-claimed-he-shot-charlie-kirk-booked-into-jail\/819948\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KSL-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Zinn] immediately started yelling at me, &lsquo;I shot him, now shoot me,&rsquo;&rdquo; Dutson wrote in the document.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I could see both of his hands and could not see a weapon,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>When asked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/washington-post-writer-fired-charlie-kirk-posts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">where the gun<\/a> was, he replied, &ldquo;I am not going to tell you,&rdquo; according to KTVX.<\/p>\n<p>Dutson said that after being taken to the Utah Valley University police offices, Zinn asked for an attorney and said &ldquo;he did not shoot the individual,&rdquo; saying that he &ldquo;did it to draw attention from the real shooter.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Zinn later told officers he &ldquo;was glad he said he shot the individual so the real suspect could get away,&rdquo; the affidavit said. &ldquo;He also stated to officers that he wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Zinn has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/leftist-teacher-showed-charlie-kirk-assassination-students-told-deserved-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">history<\/a> of criminal charges and convictions. In 2013, he was convicted of making a terroristic threat at the Salt Lake City Marathon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Old Man Arrested On Site Claiming To Be Charlie Kirk&rsquo;s Shooter Admitted To Police He Lied To Distract From The Real Shooter!<\/p>\n<p>George Zinn, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uganda-halts-vote-campaigning-in-some-areas-opposition-cries-foul\/\" title=\"Uganda halts vote campaigning in some areas, opposition cries foul\">police arrested<\/a> and dragged out in cuffs with his pants down at Utah Valley University immediately after Charlie Kirk was fatally&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tYcFVkHpOo\">pic.twitter.com\/tYcFVkHpOo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; LIZ CROKIN (@LizCrokin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LizCrokin\/status\/1967842747009597499?\">September 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Zinn&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aoc-rails-against-excessive-bail-after-waukesha-massacre\/\" title=\"AOC Rails Against \u2018Excessive Bail\u2019 After Waukesha Massacre\">criminal history dates back<\/a> to the 1980s, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/2025\/09\/10\/george-zinn-what-we-know-about-man\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Salt Lake Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a person who can be odd, and has those kinds of sometimes odd behavior challenges,&rdquo; Gill said, &ldquo;but by and large, he&rsquo;s more of a gadfly than anything else.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gill said Zinn is often arrested on suspicion of trespassing. He said Zinn would &ldquo;give me a hard time for being a Dem.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Almost every political event you can think of, there was always George somewhere in the background, listening,&rdquo; Gill said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first person detained following the fatal shooting of conservative figure Charlie Kirk last week has now been formally charged. Seventy-one-year-old George Zinn was apprehended by police at Utah Valley University right after the incident, though authorities later confirmed he was not involved in the shooting. He is currently held on suspicion of obstructing justice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2487090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-09-16T084242.561.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[63449,36508,39013,5169,63450],"class_list":["post-2487089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charlie-kirk-assassination","tag-crime-news","tag-man-arrested","tag-prosecutors","tag-shooter-assistance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-09-16T084242.561.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2487089"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2487093,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487089\/revisions\/2487093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2487090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2487089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2487089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2487089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}