Authorities charge initial Charlie Kirk suspect with obstruction of justice, child porn

Utah authorities on Tuesday announced they were charging George Zinn, who was the first person arrested in Charlie Kirk's assassination, with one count of obstruction of justice and four counts of felony sexual exploitation of a minor.

Zinn was arrested after he shouted that he shot Kirk immediately after the shooting occurred. However, there is no known connection between Zinn and alleged shooter Tyler Robinson. Zinn, 71, is a known "gadfly" who has been seen at various political speeches and protests throughout the years.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office said Zinn was taken to the Utah Valley University police department after the shooting, where he refused to cooperate with law enforcement. He was later transported to a local hospital for a medical issue and there allegedly admitted that he did not shoot Kirk but said he did to allow the real shooter to escape. 

"At this time, there is no information that George Zinn actually colluded with the shooter," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "Zinn was in attendance and intentionally yelled he was the shooter and by doing so, obstructed Law Enforcement from focusing on the actual shooter."

During law enforcement questioning, investigators asked Zinn for his phone. The suspect said he told law enforcement officials that he sometimes looked at "child sex abuse material" on his phone and that some images might be on there. Agents confirmed that there were inappropriate images of children on the device, ranging from five to 12-years-old.

Zinn also confirmed that he shares the inappropriate images of minors with other people. 

The Utah man, who has a criminal history dating back to the 1980s, is currently being held in Utah County Jail.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.