A man accused of trying to prevent officers investigating the murder of Charlie Kirk from falsely confessing to the fatal shooting faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to the charge – and separately admitting to possessing child sexual abuse material.
The case centered on 71-year-old George Zinn ended Thursday in a court hearing in Provo, Utah, about 5 miles from the college campus where the executive director of Turning Point USA was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025.
Documents filed in Zinn’s case allege that he began yelling, “I shot him – now shoot me” at Utah Valley University shortly after Kirk was fatally shot while speaking there. Video of officers restraining Zinn at the scene circulated widely online, leading some to believe he was the killer of the conservative political activist.
But, after experiencing an unspecified medical episode and being brought to the hospital, Zinn reportedly told officers he was “glad he said he shot the person so the real suspect could escape”, police documents state. He also reportedly said that he had illegal child sexual abuse material on his cell phone, so he was concerned about investigators viewing the device.
Authorities later charged Zinn with second-degree obstruction of justice as well as multiple counts of sexual exploitation of minors. The latter cases were linked to more than 20 images depicting child sexual abuse, including minors between the ages of five and 12 – as well as explicit messages suggesting sharing the images with others.
On Thursday, in front of Utah State Court Judge Thomas Low, Zinn pleaded no contest to a reduced, third-degree obstruction charge related to the incidents at UVU. Zinn also pleaded guilty to several counts of sexual exploitation of minors.
Lo sentenced Zin to up to five years in prison for the obstruction plea. The second plea deal calls for Zinn to face one to 15 years in prison, as first reported by Utah news outlets KSL and ABC 4.
Utah’s Salt Tribune wrote that how long Zinn remains incarcerated ultimately depends on the state parole board.
Zinn’s history of criminal charges and convictions in Utah reportedly dates back three decades. Notably, days after the deadly Boston Marathon terrorist bombings in 2013, he was arrested for allegedly asking Salt Lake City, Utah, marathon organizers if they needed help setting off a bomb at the finish line.
Utah state prosecutors charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in Kirk’s killing, one of several prominent examples of political violence in the US in 2025. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against Robinson, who has pleaded not guilty.
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