VIDEO: Man Steals Crucifix From Church, Uses it to Attack Fox News Sign

A Chicago man has been arrested in Wisconsin for stealing a Crucifix from a church and using it to attack the digital sign outside the local Fox 11 studios.



Brendan McSweeney, 29, allegedly stole the Crucifix from the Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Wausau, Wisconsin, around 8:45 a.m. on Friday. He had entered the church with his face covered by a scarf before sitting down to play piano.

When asked to leave, McSweeney claimed he was Jesus Christ and that he was “going to take care of this.”

“I had this horrible feeling that next he might be pulling a gun or something like that,” a Nativity parishioner who did not want to be identified told Fox 11. “You see so many things on television and it was pretty terrifying.”

Upon leaving the church, the man walked over to the Fox 11 station where he began to attack the sign.

McSweeney bashed the sign until being chased off by a Fox 11 employee.

Hours later, around 6:00 p.m., McSweeney went to a pizza restaurant and began eating another customer’s food. After getting into a scuffle with employees and being removed from the establishment, the unhinged man began to throw objects at their windows.

When police arrived at the scene, the man began aggressively screaming at them demanding to know if they believe in Jesus Christ. Eventually, he was tasered and taken into custody — but it was not until Monday that he was connected to the crimes at the church and the news station.

McSweeney’s uncle told the police that his nephew has a mental illness and has been off his medication.

In Marathon County where the pizza place is, McSweeney is charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, resisting or obstructing an officer and criminal damage to property.

In Brown County where the church and Fox 11 studios are, he has been charged with felony counts of theft, criminal damage to personal property and criminal damage to property; and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.