A known political activist who falsely claimed that he shot Charlie Kirk while at the event for the conservative star told police that he was doing it to “draw attention away from the real shooter.”

According to Fox 13 in Utah, 71-year-old George Zinn, who was a known “gadfly” and was led away from Utah Valley University in handcuffs after the murder last Wednesday, told police he was trying to distract them from the real killer.

According to the report, Zinn went up to the police right after Kirk was killed and yelled, “I shot him, now shoot me.” Police said he wasn’t carrying a gun and arrested him.

During a police interview, Zinn admitted he did not kill Kirk but said he wanted to cause a distraction “to draw attention from the real shooter,” according to court documents reviewed by Fox 13.

According to court papers, the fake shooter said he “wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot” after being taken to a local hospital for medical reasons.

Police said that his first words slowed down the investigation into Kirk’s death and wasted police time and energy at a crucial point in the case.

He is charged with obstruction of justice, which is a second-degree felony.

The original person of interest, George Zinn, 71, has allegedly confessed that he pretended to have shot Charlie Kirk to help the real killer escape.

He is being held without bond and charged with felony obstruction. pic.twitter.com/ltgCG5VAjJ

— National Conservative (@NatCon2022) September 16, 2025

There was a lot of chaos at Utah Valley University after the murder, and video from that time showed Zinn being dragged away by police while he screamed, “Shoot me!”

“He said he shot him, but I don’t know,” one officer told the crowd, which was under the impression that Zinn was the shooter and yelled and swore at him as he went by.

Zinn is known in his community as a political “gadfly” who often shows up at events but is quickly thrown out. He has been arrested for trespassing at film festivals, protests, and political meetings.

“Almost every political event you can think of, there was always George somewhere in the background, listening,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the Salt Lake Tribune.

“He’s a person who can be odd, and has those kinds of sometimes odd behavior challenges,” said Gill, who has prosecuted Zinn several times. “But by and large, he’s more of a gadfly than anything else.”

According to sources, Zinn spent a year in jail in 2013 for making threats to bomb the Salt Lake City Marathon.

Currently, there are no available documents suggesting a connection between Zinn and Tyler Robinson.

Authorities confirmed that Tyler Robinson, the suspect in jail for the murder of Charlie Kirk, is being placed under “special watch” until he has a mental health evaluation.

Robinson was caught after being on the run for 33 hours.

Robinson’s father convinced Tyler to turn himself in. A law enforcement source told Fox News that he told the FBI that he recognized his son from surveillance video images that the FBI had shared during the manhunt.

The person told Fox News Digital that Robinson told his father he was going to kill himself when he got there. Sources told Fox News Digital that the dad talked to a preacher whom the family knew before he turned in his son.

On Sunday morning, Utah Gov. Brian Cox told ABC News that Robinson was not cooperating with police while he was in jail.

The governor said that Robinson’s family members and his romantic partner, a man who is transitioning from male to female, are cooperating with authorities.

He added that those who know the 22-year-old say he was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

FBI Director Kash Patel detailed the contents of a text message exchange between the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk and a close friend.

In the messages, the killer indicated he had a chance to “take out Charlie Kirk” and that he was “going to do it.”

Patel also revealed that DNA found on a screwdriver left on the roof of Utah Valley University and the towel wrapped around the weapon found near the site of the Kirk attack has matched Robinson.