George Zinn, 71, has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and possession of child sex abuse material. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office reported that Zinn was present at the Utah Valley University (UVU) event where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last week.

According to the sheriff’s office, shortly after the shooting, Zinn was seen yelling that he had shot Kirk while people were fleeing the scene. UVU Police took him into custody and transported him to the UVU Police Department. At that time, Zinn was reportedly uncooperative with law enforcement and refused to speak.

Zinn later experienced a medical issue and was taken to a hospital. While there, he claimed he was not the shooter but had yelled to obstruct the police response. He also spoke with an FBI agent and an agent from the Utah State Bureau of Investigation, who requested to examine his phone.

During the investigation, Zinn admitted to using his phone to view and share child sex abuse material. Agents discovered several images on his phone featuring prepubescent girls in scantily clad poses. The Utah County Special Victims Unit then took over the case.

A search warrant was obtained for Zinn's phone, and investigators found over 20 images of children aged 5 to 12 in various stages of undress and sexual poses. Additionally, there were graphic sexual text threads in which Zinn shared these images with others. He reportedly told investigators that he derives sexual gratification from viewing and sharing such material, specifying that his preferred victim age is between 5 and 12 years old.

Zinn remains in custody at the Utah County Jail facing these charges. His criminal history dates back to the 1980s. Last week, a local district attorney described Zinn as odd but generally harmless, referring to him as "more of a gadfly." A video circulating at the time of the incident showed officers moving Zinn away from the shooting scene, with one officer heard saying, "He said he shot him, but I don’t know."

The investigation into Zinn's actions continues as authorities work to address the serious nature of the charges against him.