This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man pleaded guilty Friday to threatening to plant bombs at the Salt Lake City Marathon.
George Hodgson Zinn, 59, pleaded guilty to making a threat of terrorism, a class A misdemeanor. The charge was reduced from a second-degree felony in exchange for the guilty plea.
Zinn's case began April 17, when he threatened to place a bomb at the marathon. According to court documents, Zinn made the threat in an email sent to a marathon official, asking "if you needed anybody to help place bombs near the finish line on Saturday???"
Police arrested Zinn two days later at his home in Salt Lake County.
The incident came just days after the bloody Boston Marathon bombings.
Less than two weeks after Zinn sent his email, he wrote a letter apologizing for the threat. In his letter, he called his email a "flippant and irresponsible comment," which he now says he regrets.
Zinn's attorneys later tried to get him into mental health court, arguing that he had a history with mental illness.
In October, a judge ordered Zinn to stand trial, but his guilty plea means he will skip straight to sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 3.
Jim Dalrymple II