FORT WAYNE — Fort Wayne mayoral candidate Tommy Schrader was arrested Tuesday night just after polls closed.

WANE15 learned that Schrader was arrested Tuesday near a Kroger on State Boulevard. He was taken into custody on a criminal mischief charge, sources said.

According to a Fort Wayne Police report, an employee at Jeff’s Coney in Georgetown Square called police and said Schrader had been there and vandalized a bench with a marker.

An officer found the words “p—-” and “money” scrawled onto a bench in front of the eatery, as well as a swastika, the report said.

Schrader was not there when police arrived.

A short time later, officers found Shrader at the nearby Shell gas station at the intersection of Maplecrest Road and East State Boulevard. He told officers that the employees of Jeff’s Coney made him “angry” so he wrote on the bench.

Shrader told police “it was his right to do so because of freedom of speech,” the report said.

Shrader is due in court Thursday morning for an arraignment on the Criminal Mischief charge. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Back in 2014, Schrader was also taken into custody after losing the Democratic nomination for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional district.

He showed up at the Allen County Republican Party headquarters. Later, when some candidates were speaking at the podium, Schrader started shouting in the back of the room.

Police showed up and put him in the back of their squad car, but officers say there was no arrest and they didn’t file a report.

WANE15 spoke with Allen County Democratic Chair Misti Meehan shortly after learning about his arrest:

 If he is out misbehaving in the population, I am hopeful they will give him the help he needs.”

Source: WANE