George Zinn, a 71-year-old elderly man who falsely claimed to have fatally shot American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for an unrelated crime.
For context, Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025.
As people were leaving the scene following Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, the elderly man allegedly started screaming, “I shot him – now shoot me,” documents mentioned.
Zinn was subsequently taken into custody by campus police. However, after experiencing a medical episode, he was taken straight to a hospital.
The man eventually admitted to lying about being the shooter in order to distract authorities from locating Charlie Kirk’s original shooter.
BREAKING:
🇺🇲 George Zinn the Jewish Man who was initially arrested in the assassination of Charlie Kirk admits he purposefully distracted police to help Tyler Robinson escape. pic.twitter.com/KUoeOrgrW7
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) September 16, 2025
Later, when investigators searched Zinn’s phone, they allegedly found disturbing pictures of minors. “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 s—- posing,” alleged the Sheriff’s office, per People Magazine.
Officers also found graphic text messages on the man’s phone while sharing the images. Zinn was charged with second-degree obstruction of justice, as well as additional charges for the possession of improper material involving a child.
On Thursday, the elderly man pleaded guilty to two counts of s—- exploitation of a minor, and no contest to a third-degree felony charge of obstruction of justice, per The Salt Lake Tribune.
Per the outlet, the judge ordered Zinn to serve up to 15 years in prison, with two 1-15 years terms for the second-degree felony exploitation charges, and a zero-to-five year sentence for obstruction.
During his court appearance, the 71-year-old said that he “wish[s] the court to know I am not and will never be a danger to children or their parents.”
“Every desire and commitment to change and lead a responsible and productive life, nobody wants to excel more than me,” he added.
Zinn further broke into tears, addressing that he wants to “put the past behind me and move forward.”
BREAKING: Utah to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson
List of charges:
– Aggravated murder
– Felony discharge of a firearm
– Obstruction of justice x2
– Witness tampering x2
– Violent crime committed with children present pic.twitter.com/GoG5bITjTp
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 16, 2025
Describing Zinn as an “interesting man” who “never really got the love or attention he deserved,” his defence attorney claimed he was someone, “who never fit in.”
“Never really got the love or attention he deserved. And never got the help he needed, resources that would that helped him years ago. It’s my hope in the future that Mr. Zinn is able to get the help he needs and the resources he need,” the lawyer added.
Meanwhile, Tyler Robinson, the gunman who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk was arrested days later the assassination following a large-scale manhunt.
He is currently facing charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, per The New York Post.
