A man who falsely claimed he had shot Charlie Kirk right after the gunfire that killed the right-wing activist has been charged with obstruction of justice and possession of child s*xual abuse material.
Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10.
After the shooting, as people were running from the area, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said that 71-year-old George Zinn was seen yelling that he had shot Kirk.
Zinn was taken into custody by campus police and later taken to a hospital after experiencing a medical issue, the sheriff’s office said.
At first, Zinn did not cooperate, but the sheriff’s office said he later admitted in the hospital that he had lied about being the shooter to try to stop police from finding the real shooter.
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Law enforcement then asked Zinn if they could search his phone. He agreed, and reportedly told officers they would find child sexual abuse material on it.
The sheriff’s office said, “During a preliminary review of the phone, UCSO SVU Investigators did view over 20 images of children ranging from 5 to 12 years old in various stages of undress and sexual posing. There were several very graphic sexual text threads in which Zinn shared the images with other parties.”
The office also said Zinn admitted to getting sexual gratification from viewing and sharing the child sexual abuse material and preferred victims between the ages of 5 and 12.
It is not clear if Zinn has entered a plea for either of the charges. He is being held in Utah County jail. Authorities do not believe Zinn worked with the shooter.
After videos and images from the Kirk shooting spread online, many people mistakenly thought Zinn was the shooter. The New York Times reported that the man in those images was Zinn.
A manhunt ended with the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was identified by family members from images shared by law enforcement.
Robinson is accused of killing Kirk and is charged with aggravated murder and several other felonies.
