The game “capture the flag” took on a new meaning in downtown Madison Tuesday, after a homeless man was seen taking down Old Glory from a U.S. District Courthouse just off the Capitol Square.
A witness thought it was unusual that a person out of uniform was handling the flag, especially after the man shoved the flag into his backpack.
Police were contacted and eventually found 52-year-old Joseph Krueger nearby and pulled the flag from his bag. Krueger was described by officers as “unkempt” with an “odor of intoxicants” on his breath.
Krueger told the officer he was going back to his childhood and “just funning” by playing a game of capture the flag. He then tried to convince police he was a U.S. Marshal and with the FBI.
When the officer folded up the flag to give it back to the building security officer, Krueger accused him of not folding it properly.
Krueger was cited for theft.
Chandra Lynn, WIBA
