"Wanted To Distract": Man Who Faked Claim of Shooting Charlie Kirk

The 71-year-old man who ran up to police officers upon being alerted of Charlie Kirk's shooting and screamed, "I shot him, now shoot me," informed investigators he was trying to "draw attention from the real shooter," a report states.

George Zinn, who is also a famous "gadfly," was arrested in handcuffs from Utah Valley University after the assassination on last Wednesday. He informed the authorities that his intentions were to divert their attention from the real killer, Tyler Robinson.

Under questioning, Zinn confessed he did not kill Kirk but claimed he had tried to cause a distraction "to draw attention from the real shooter."

Court papers also indicated that once he was brought to a local hospital for a medical issue, Zinn made further comments, stating he "wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot."

Zinn is currently charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

Regarded for his presence at functions, Zinn tends to find himself taken away from political rallies, film festivals, and demonstrations, racking up multiple trespassing arrests.

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

"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."

Zinn, in 2013, threatened to bomb the Salt Lake City Marathon and spent a year in jail for that act, reports indicate.

Tyler Robinson, age 22, was arrested a day after Kirk was killed. He is charged with felony discharge of a firearm, which can result in a life sentence, and obstruction of justice, which is punishable by up to 15 years.

Robinson was also indicted on charges of witness tampering after instructing his partner to delete text messages and requiring them to be quiet if asked questions by the police.