By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A 71-year-old man who falsely confessed to shooting conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University is now facing charges after investigators say they discovered child sexual abuse images on his phone.
According to charging documents, George Hodgson Zinn of Salt Lake City approached officers moments after the Sept. 10 shooting and shouted, “I shot him now shoot me.”
UVU Detective Michael Dutson wrote that Zinn repeated the claim several times as panicked spectators fled the courtyard. Officers handcuffed him but found no weapon.
While being escorted away, Zinn allegedly told police he wanted to draw attention away from the real gunman and later admitted he had not fired the shot that killed Kirk.
“He stated he did it to draw attention from the real shooter,” Dutson wrote, adding that Zinn also told officers he wanted to be “a martyr” for the shooter.
Zinn was booked on a single count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, for diverting resources during the manhunt.
Days later, while Zinn was under guard at Utah Valley Hospital, he told FBI and State Bureau of Investigation agents that his phone contained child sexual abuse material. Investigators obtained a warrant and, according to court documents, found more than 20 images of young girls ages 5 to 12, including four explicit images of nude children.
Detectives said Zinn admitted being sexually aroused by children and described sex acts in messages he sent alongside the images. In one text exchange cited in the affidavit, Zinn sent a photo of a girl around 5 years old. He allegedly told contacts online the children were his daughters and invited others to abuse them.
On Sept. 15, Zinn was charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all second-degree felonies . He remains in the Utah County Jail.
Officials emphasized that Zinn had no role in Kirk’s killing.