A naked man was found inside the Senate chamber at the State Capitol just before midnight Friday, in what authorities described as an apparent case of mental illness.
The man was taken for evaluation to Regions Hospital, where he managed to flee just as he was getting registered for admission, according to scanner audio. He then went to the Capitol grounds for a second time about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said in a statement.
The man was taken back to Regions Hospital for a mental health evaluation before being released Saturday, authorities said.
At no time was the man placed in law enforcement custody, but Capitol Security officers were “keeping an eye out for him in the event he returns to the Capitol grounds,” Howie Padilla, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said in an interview.
“They’ll take appropriate action,” Padilla added.
Word of the security breach first became public about 1 p.m. Saturday when the Minnesota Star Tribune obtained a copy of an email sent to legislators by Chief Sergeant at Arms Lori Hodapp.
“The individual made statements indicating a belief that he was the Governor, among other remarks,” the email read, adding that the man had an active warrant for his arrest in Wisconsin involving a probation violation.
In a statement Saturday, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said the man also allegedly vandalized the Capitol. She added that she is frustrated he was not taken into custody.
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