A 46-year-old man was charged with first-degree property damage Wednesday after allegedly ramming his car into the Governor’s Residence gates Monday night, causing the east half to break open and damaging the electric motor that operates the gates.

According to the criminal complaint:

Wondu Seifu of St. Paul told police he wanted to ask Gov. Mark Dayton to be deported to another country where he would be granted religious asylum. He didn’t consider leaving the country voluntarily.

Seifu wanted to flee the country because his house had been the target of “spiritual warfare attacks” and he believed state and federal governments were withholding funds from his paychecks outside of tax money, he told police.

State troopers stationed at the residence told Seifu to show his hands and began checking for weapons, prompting the man to “weep uncontrollably.” He then attempted to disrobe before police stopped him.

Seifu, a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia in 2003, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted.