Man drives up Indiana War Memorial steps, sets fire

An armed man drove his SUV up the steps of the Indiana War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis on Tuesday, then started a fire there, police said.

Police and fire offiicials were called to the scene at about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, after the man, whom police identified as Daniel Whitaker, 49, Indianapolis, drove his Jeep Cherokee up the steps of the memorial at Meridian and Vermont streets, then poured gasoline down the steps and set fire to it.

The man who was half naked and draped in an American flag, carrying a bright blue staff and at one point wearing a metal helmet with a plume, workers at the War Memorial Museum said. He also put up a cross, police said, was carrying a semi-automatic pistol and told officers he was with the "Texas army."

The fire was extinguished before it caused in major damage, and Whitaker was arrested. Police said he told them he wanted things to go back to the way they used to be, saying it was safer 50 years ago.

Police said he would be preliminarily charged with terroristic mischief, a Class C felony. He was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric hold.

Vermont Street was closed between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets during the investigation into Tuesday evening.