George Zinn, a 71-year-old man from Utah, has been charged with obstruction of justice and four counts of sexual exploitation of minors after causing confusion in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder on the Utah Valley University campus.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox News, Zinn approached a police officer after the gunshots and shouted, "I killed him, now shoot me," despite not carrying a weapon.
This false confession diverted the authorities' attention, delaying the investigation of the real perpetrator, Tyler Robinson, who was arrested 33 hours later and faces charges of aggravated murder, among others. Zinn, described as a well-known local political agitator, continued to insist on his false confession while being handcuffed, repeating, "I killed him, now shoot me."
However, no weapon was found after a search, and upon arriving at the police department, Zinn recanted his statement, admitting that his intention was to distract the authorities to help the real shooter escape. He also expressed his desire to "be a martyr for the person who was killed."
His actions caused significant confusion, with videos of his arrest circulating online, where he was mistakenly identified as the perpetrator. During the investigation, Zinn allowed authorities to review his phone, admitting that he used it to view and share child sexual abuse material.
Officers found more than 20 images of prepubescent girls, some as young as 5 years old, in sexual poses, along with graphic conversations in which Zinn shared this content. These revelations led to the four counts of sexual exploitation of minors, in addition to the charge of obstruction of justice.
