Attempts to apply the previously reported masked Fischer indole synthesis to Boc-protected propargylamine failed. Subsequent screening for catalysts or promoters of this reaction identified Zn(OTf)₂ (25 mol%) as an efficient catalyst. Using the newly identified procedure, several 3-aminoindoles bearing various carbonyl motifs on the nitrogen atom have been synthesized, some of them possessing antibacterial activity against the ESKAPE panel of bacterial pathogens.