A 71-year-old man, George Zinn, allegedly claimed to have shot prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk and was subsequently arrested. While the alleged real shooter was later arrested, authorities have now accused Zinn of a heinous crime: possession of child pornography.
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According to a release issued by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO), Zinn was attending Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on September 10. After Kirk was shot, and while the event attendees were fleeing the area, Zinn allegedly claimed to have taken the shot.
He was transported to the UVU Police Department and was accused of not cooperating with police and investigators. He was transported to a local hospital due to a medical issue. Then, he allegedly admitted to falsely claiming to be the shooter in an attempt to hinder law enforcement’s response.
While at the hospital, following his alleged admission, one law enforcement agent asked Zinn to look at his phone, as per the UCSO. Zinn agreed. However, he allegedly warned agents that he used his phone to view child sex abuse material, adding that there were images on it. Agents, according to the release, observed images of “prepubescent girls scantily dressed.”
Search Warrant, Heinous Findings
On September 15, the police executed a search warrant on Zinn’s phone. A preliminary review of the device allegedly found 20 images depicting children between the ages of 5 and 12. They were “in various stages of undress and sexual posing,” the HCSO said.
Allegedly, Zinn shared the heinous images with other users in “very graphic sexual text threads.” The man allegedly admitted to getting sexual gratification from viewing child sex abuse material. He added that “his preferred victim age is 5 to 12 years old,” the UCSO alleged.
George Zinn is charged with obstruction of justice and four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He is being held in the Utah County Jail. According to the UCSO, currently, no information indicates that Zinn colluded with the alleged shooter.
Charlie Kirk was allegedly assassinated by Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man. He faces seven charges, as per the BBC: aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and one count of violent offence committed in the presence of a child.
Prosecutors have announced that they will seek the death penalty.