Elderly man accused of falsely claiming he’d shot Charlie Kirk sentenced to three prison terms

A man who was accused of having falsely claimed to be responsible for Charlie Kirk's shooting has been sentenced to three prison terms, including for unrelated sexual exploitation of a minor.

In September, the 31-year-old podcaster was shot in the neck while hosting a Q&A session at Utah Valley University. In the aftermath, a suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, was later apprehended by authorities and received seven charges, including aggravated murder, of which he has pleaded not guilty.

However, following Kirk's death, police detained George Zinn, 71, after he had 'yelled that he was the shooter to allow the actual suspect to flee', according to Utah County Sheriff Michael Smith.

Video footage also widely circulated of Zinn's detainment, with the man, along with another unnamed suspect, being determined by police to have not been involved with the shooting.

Charlie Kirk was killed on September 20, 2025 (Photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

However, investigators said that while he wasn't responsible for the shooting itself, his comments diverted the attention of multiple officers away from the actual shooter.

According to police documents, the 71-year-old claimed he was 'glad he said he shot the individual so the real suspect could get away' after being taken to the hospital for unspecified chest pain.

Zinn was charged with second-degree obstruction of justice, as well as receiving additional charges on a separate case involving the possession of child sexual abuse material.

The Guardian reports that he had admitted to having child pornography on his cell phone when authorities asked to look at the device. According to the BBC, his cell phone allegedly contained more than 20 images of children 'in various stages of undress and sexual posing', along with explicit messages reportedly sharing the images.

George Zinn falsely claimed responsibility for the shooting (FOX 13)

On January 29, Zinn pleaded no contest to the obstruction of justice charge, a third-degree felony, as part of a plea deal, with 4th District Judge Thomas Low sentencing him to a term of zero to five years in prison.

He also pleaded guilty to two of the four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, receiving two prison terms of one to 15 years.

Part of the plea deal also included the dismissal of a January 2025 theft charge. Judge Low ordered that the three terms be served concurrently.

KSL reports that Zinn has been arrested and charged several times over the past 30 years, primarily for trespassing in political spaces.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Zinn denied that he was a danger to kids, stating in court: “I wish the court to know I am not and will never be a danger to children or their parents.”

He promised that he wants to ‘excel’ in life and reform his ways to ‘lead a responsible and productive life’.