The elderly man who was cuffed and dragged away after Charlie Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University is a local political activist known for causing a scene.
George Zinn, 71, was arrested in the chaotic moments following the assassination of the right-wing influencer, 31, on Wednesday afternoon.
The white-haired attendee was seen kneeling on the ground as police handcuffed him before he was hauled away from the doomed rally.
As the dramatic scene unfolded, Zinn’s pants dropped to his ankles. He was seen shuffling in his boxers as cops forced him through the shell-shocked crowd at the Orem campus.
Bystanders were heard relentlessly screaming at Zinn, with one yelling ‘how dare you, you f***ing monster!’ Zinn was allegedly heard urging the crowd to ‘shoot him.’
One witness told NBC he was ‘screaming about his rights and all that stuff’ to the police.
Near the end of a widely-circulated video of his arrest, a cop said: ‘He said he shot him, but I don’t know.’
George Zinn (pictured), 71, was arrested in the chaotic moments following the gory assassination of the right-wing influencer, 31, on Wednesday afternoon
The elderly man who was cuffed and dragged away after Charlie Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University is a local political activist known for causing a scene (pictured: Zinn being pulled by cops)
The horror shooting unfolded Wednesday afternoon at the UVU campus in Orem as Kirk hosted his Turning Point USA event
While rumors instantly swirled that Zinn may have been the shooting suspect, authorities quickly announced this was not the case and the culprit is still at large.
‘Shortly after the shooting, we did have a suspect in custody, George Zinn,’ Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said during a press conference.
Mason noted that Zinn (pictured) was booked by UVU police for obstruction for obstruction justice
‘But he was released from custody after we identified that he did not match the shooting suspect and was not an accurate person of interest.’
Mason noted that Zinn was booked by UVU police for obstruction for obstruction of justice.
Another suspect was taken into custody as well, but they were later released after FBI interrogation.
This was not Zinn’s first run-in with the law, as local community members immediately recognized him, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
According to records reviewed by the Daily Mail, Zinn has been criminally charged about 25 times for offenses from trespassing to disturbing peace.
He was arrested a handful of times, usually as a result of bizarre incidents and encounters.
In an archived Tribune story from 2012, Zinn is described as the ‘Utah gadfy – a regular at state Republican functions, and a frequent presence at movie promo screenings and the Sundance Film Festival.’
Officials said the fatal shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was speaking
The article’s opening line was: ‘Time for another thrilling chapter of our irregular serial, “The Further Adventures of George Zinn.”‘
Zinn’s found himself in hot water in 2013, when he was charged with threatening to plant bombs at the finish line of the Salt Lake City Marathon.
He entered a plea deal, in which he was placed on probation and ordered mental health treatment, according to the Tribune.
Zinn made the news again in 2019 when he was arrested during a violent protest against the Utah Inland Port Authority for disorderly conduct and failure to disperse.
He was one of five people taken to jail, although his peers were roughly half his age.
But his disobedient history stems back as far as the 1980s, when he became a frequent – unwelcome – attendee at various Republican Party events.
Zinn reportedly showed up to Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988 with nowhere to stay.
‘So T.H. Bell, the Utahn who was Ronald Reagan’s secretary of education, let him sleep on a cot in his hotel room,’ Tribune columnist Paul Rolly wrote in 2012.
Horrified attendees fled the scene as chaos unfolded (pictured)
‘How dare you, you f***ing monster!’ one witness yelled as Zinn (pictured), who has not been identified, was walked away with his trousers down
Officials have launched an urgent manhunt for the shooter as they remain at large
When he attempted the same stunt in 2012, at the RNC in Tampa, hotel staff escorted him off the premises.
Prior to Wednesday, his most recent arrest was in May on a misdemeanor count of ‘pedestrian in roadway.’
‘George stated he didn’t care if the vehicles waited all day. I told George he needed to wait on the sidewalk, and not in the roadway,’ the officer wrote, according to the Tribune.
‘He told me he did not care, and to take him to jail.’
The Daily Mail could not reach Zinn for comment.
Police have launched an urgent manhunt for the gunman who shot conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at his event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Kirk was shot in the neck as he began a Q&A with students at the event, with footage sweeping social media showing the commentator falling limp as he was struck.
UVU officials said the shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was sitting.
Zinn (pictured) is not the man who shot Kirk, according to authorities
A large law enforcement presence could be seen descending on the Utah school
Kirk (pictured) was killed at a college campus rally on Wednesday
Hours after the horrific shooting, President Trump confirmed that Kirk had died, saying he was ‘loved and admired’ in the political world.
‘Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika and family, Charlie we love you,’ he wrote.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months.
In honor of the passionate podcast host, Trump declared that all American Flags across the nation will be lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening.
In honor of the passionate podcast host, Trump declared that all American Flags across the nation will be lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening.
With the manhunt ongoing, Mayor David Young of the north-central Utah city of Orem urged locals to report anything suspicious as they search for the gunman.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that he had spoken with Trump soon after news emerged that Kirk was killed, saying that he was ‘heartbroken’ by the incident.
‘We are praying for Charlie’s wife, daughter, and son,’ Cox wrote on X, adding that ‘we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy.’
President Trump (left) led tributes to Kirk (right) after Kirk was shot dead at the event
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve , with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months
Footage from the scene showed event goers screaming as shots rang out, with clips circulating social media appearing to show Kirk was shot in the neck.
Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting happened, told the Daily Mail that she almost got trampled as she ran off into the food court where she hit in a closet.
’The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,’ said Anderson, who was joined at the event by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative who was handing out hats on stage with Kirk just five minutes earlier.
’He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,’ she said. ‘They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.’
Kirk published a post on X just minutes before reports of the shooting emerged.
‘WE. ARE. SO. BACK,’ Kirk wrote at 2.23pm EST. ‘Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.’
Utah Valley University evacuated the campus after the shooting and canceled classes until further notice.
The event was the first in Kirk’s ‘Great American Comeback Tour.’
A petition signed by 7,000 people called for him to be banned from campus.
