Man arrested at scene of Charlie Kirk

When Charlie Kirk was shot on September 10, it initially seemed police had caught the suspect. Viral footage showed an elderly man being led away with his pants down, sparking online claims that he was the rooftop gunman seen fleeing the scene.

That man, 71-year-old George Zinn, turned out not to be the shooter. Nor was a 77-year-old Toronto resident falsely identified online. Both were later cleared as the FBI released sharper footage of the real suspect and announced a $1.15 million reward.

The actual gunman is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, now facing charges of aggravated murder, firearm discharge causing injury, and obstruction. Prosecutors are pursuing capital murder charges. Robinson appeared in court virtually on September 16 after his own father reportedly turned him in.

The bizarre twist is why Zinn falsely confessed at the scene, shouting, “I shot him, now shoot me.” Court records show he admitted later that he lied to distract police from the real killer.

Zinn explained he wanted to “be a martyr” for Kirk and deliberately diverted attention. Though unarmed, his actions wasted critical time and resources, leading to a charge of second-degree felony obstruction of justice.

This isn’t Zinn’s first run-in with law enforcement. He has a history of disruptive activism, from being the first person banned from City Creek Center mall in 2012 to a trespassing arrest at Sundance, and even serving a year in jail for a 2013 bomb threat at the Salt Lake City Marathon.

Salt Lake County DA Sim Gill described him as a political “gadfly”—a fixture at countless events, often behaving oddly but more annoying than dangerous.