Utah resident George Zinn, who was initially believed to be involved in the shooting of activist Charlie Kirk in September and arrested at Utah Valley University that day, pleaded guilty on Thursday in a district court to sexual exploitation of a minor and obstruction of justice.
According to police reports, two minutes after a single shot killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, 71-year-old George Zinn began shouting, “I shot him, now shoot me.”
As Zinn continued to yell, UVU Police detective Michael Dutson asked him where the gun was. Zinn replied, “I am not going to tell you where it is. I shot him, now shoot me.”
When Dutson found Zinn to be weaponless, he escorted him to the UVU Police Department, according to the report. Zinn was quickly dismissed as a suspect in Kirk’s killing, but his actions in the chaos afterward caused him to be arrested anyway.
Thursday in Utah’s 4th District Court, Zinn pleaded no contest to third-degree obstruction of justice and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Zinn appeared emotional as he read his charges, according to reports. Judge Thomas Low sentenced Zinn to 0-5 years in prison for the obstruction charge, and up to 15 years in prison for the sexual exploitation charges. The parole board will finalize the sentence length, according to KSL.
Zinn pleads guilty to child sexual exploitation
While interviewing Zinn about his potential involvement in the shooting on Sept. 10, police asked if they could view his phone. Zinn warned them he used his phone to view child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
When police obtained a warrant for Zinn’s phone, they found CSAM in his sent items folder.
In the courtroom on Thursday, Zinn said the photos were “public access” and that he got them from a “chatroom dialogue.”
“I wish the court to know I am not and will never be a danger to children or their parents,” Zinn said. He added he has “every desire and commitment to change and lead a responsible and productive life.”
He continued, “I want to put the past behind me and move forward.” Here, according to reports, Zinn began to cry and asked his attorney to finish reading the letter.
Sentencing follows Zinn’s long history of arrests
Over the last 30 years, Zinn has attended and been removed from numerous political spaces, the Deseret News previously reported.
Zinn was charged with threats of terrorism in the months following the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. He had emailed Salt Lake City Marathon organizers to ask if they “needed anybody to help place bombs near the finish line.”