Police: Naked Man Broke Car Tail Lights with Bottle, Told Officers Red was 'Danger to the Republic'

An Iowa City man was arrested and charged with misdemeanors after police found him naked and vandalizing cars on Westwinds Drive.

According to Iowa City Police criminal complaints, police were called to 714 Westwinds Drive at 6:25 a.m. on Wednesday for the report of a naked man "trying to get into cars and hitting cars with a bottle."

When officers arrived, they reportedly observed Sean Christopher Flaherty, 42, a nearby resident on Westwinds Drive, smashing out tail lights with a glass bottle. 

Flaherty was arrested and allegedly smelled of alcohol, registering a .083 blood-alcohol content after arrest, only slightly above the legal limit. Flaherty had broken out the tail lights of three different cars in the parking lot, causing $600 in damage, according to the complaint. Flaherty told officers he did not know the owners of the vehicles and said he was smashing out the red tail lights because "red means danger to the republic." 

He was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, an aggravated misdemeanor, and public intoxication, a simple misdemeanor.

Flaherty currently remains in custody after being booked into the Johnson County Jail at 7:21 a.m. on Wednesday.