George Zinn, 71, who falsely confessed to Charlie Kirk’s shooting, now faces child pornography charges after investigators found illicit images on his phone.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇱 BREAKING: GEORGE ZINN has ADMITTED he intentionally distracted police by yelling, “I shot him, now shoot me,” so the real shooter could ESCAPE.
Zinn also confessed to possessing child pornography on his phone. pic.twitter.com/GlnRZVVopZ
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) September 16, 2025
George Zinn, the 71-year-old Utah man who falsely claimed responsibility for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has been charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Authorities said investigators found more than 20 images of children as young as 5 in sexual poses on his phone.
“Zinn admitted … that he gets sexual gratification from viewing and sharing \[child sexual abuse material] images with others, and that his preferred victim age is 5 to 12 years old,” the Utah County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Zinn drew attention on Sept. 10 after shouting, “I shot him, now shoot me,” as police responded to Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University. Though unarmed, he was arrested and later admitted he wanted to distract officers. A search of his phone uncovered the illicit material.
He remains jailed while Tyler Robinson, 22, faces aggravated murder charges in Kirk’s death. Authorities said there is no evidence Zinn colluded with Robinson.