George Zinn, a 71-year-old Utah man, has been arrested and charged after falsely confessing to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The incident began last week when Zinn loudly claimed responsibility for the shooting at Utah Valley University, allegedly to allow the actual suspect to escape police pursuit, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Zinn was initially uncooperative with police and was taken to a hospital for an undisclosed medical issue. During questioning by an FBI agent and a state official, he admitted he was not the shooter but had purposely claimed responsibility to mislead authorities.
In a significant turn, Zinn allowed agents to search his phone, where investigators found numerous sexually explicit images involving minors. Law enforcement officials uncovered over 20 images depicting children between ages five and twelve in various states of undress and sexual poses.
Following a warrant executed on Zinn’s phone, the Utah County Special Victims Unit took over the investigation. Evidence suggests that the illicit content was also shared with others.
Zinn now faces four counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor, as well as an obstruction of justice charge related to his false confession. The real suspect in the shooting is believed to be 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
No known connection has been established between Robinson and Zinn.
Locally, Zinn is known as a provocateur who has disrupted public events such as the Sundance Film Festival, according to KPCW public radio.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has yet to provide further comment.
