The elderly man who falsely claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is now learning the hard way that screaming lies at a crime scene has consequences. George Zinn, who initially told police he shot Kirk, has been sentenced and is now facing up to 15 years behind bars.
Zinn pleaded no contest to a third-degree felony charge of obstruction of justice and also pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Fox13 Salt Lake City. Altogether, his convictions could land him in prison for as long as 15 years. Apparently, fake confessions and real crimes don’t cancel each other out.
Immediately after Kirk was shot while speaking to students at Utah Valley University in September, Zinn began shouting, “I shot him. Now shoot me!” — not once, but repeatedly. After being taken into custody, he admitted he had lied in order to “draw attention from the real shooter.” That’s one way to try to become famous, though not exactly the recommended route.
Video footage showed the 71-year-old being led away in handcuffs about an hour after the shooting, causing many to believe authorities had already captured the assassin. But instead of being charged with murder, Zinn was charged with obstruction of justice for deliberately misleading officers at a critical moment.
Police documents show Zinn continued yelling his false confession when officers refused to shoot him, before later admitting the whole story was fabricated. He was booked into the Utah County Jail on the obstruction charge shortly afterward.
At the time, Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed that Tyler Robinson, the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk, was in custody, making it clear that Zinn’s dramatic performance did nothing but complicate an already tragic situation.
Justice may move slowly, but it does move—and in this case, it landed squarely on someone who chose deception instead of truth. Accountability still matters, and that’s a good thing for the rule of law and for a country that refuses to let lies replace facts.
