Who is George Zinn? 71-year-old man who distracted police from Charlie Kirk’s real shooter charged with child exploitation

George Zinn, the 71-year-old man who was initially detained moments after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, faked the confession to help the gunman escape, authorities said. Kirk was shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (Sep 10). The twenty-two-year-old accused, Tyler Robinson, was arrested hours after the initial arrest of the elderly man.

Utah County Sheriff Michael Smith said that Zinn admitted to police that he “yelled that he was the shooter to allow the actual suspect to flee.” Robinson’s chat with his roommate revealed that he was aware of Zinn’s arrest, saying that the police had “grabbed some crazy old dude” in a text.

Who is George Zinn?

George Zinn was one of the two people who were held for questioning by the police in connection with the investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Police later confirmed that the two suspects were not involved in the fatal shooting incident at Utah Valley University.

While Zinn was not charged with murdering the US President Donald Trump’s ally, he is being held on obstruction of justice charges. Police said that there is currently no evidence to suggest that he colluded with the shooter. However, a judge ordered on Monday that Zinn be held without bail, adding that he was a “substantial danger” to society.

The elderly man is also being charged with possession of child sex abuse material, the police said. He is being held for sexual exploitation of a minor. While in custody, the authorities found that he was in possession of more than 20 images of children “in various stages of undress and sexual posing”

According to the New York Times, Zinn is well known among public events organisers in Salt Lake City. The report added that he often showed up at public forums and disrupted events or questioned a high-profile speaker intentionally.

Reportedly, Zinn also has a long history of minor crimes. In 2013, he was arrested for threatening the hosts of the Salt Lake City Marathon via email. The incident happened just days after the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three.

What did Zinn confess?

According to the court documents, shortly after the shooting, Zinn yelled, “I shot him - now shoot me.” When asked by a police officer where the weapon used in the shooting was, he said, “I am not going to tell you.”

Mr Zinn "intentionally yelled he was the shooter and by doing so, obstructed Law Enforcement from focusing on the actual shooter", the sheriff said in a statement. It is not clear if he had a lawyer.

Meanwhile, Robinson, who is the prime suspect in the killing, is facing seven counts, including aggravated murder. Prosecution has confirmed that they have pushed for death penalty against him.