A Utah man was arrested after police say he stripped naked in front of “thousands” of people attending a service at a Mormon church over Easter weekend.
Mitchell Dean Anderson, 36, was caught by a Salt Lake City police officer taking off all his clothes on the grounds of Temple Square just before 10 a.m. Saturday morning, ABC 4 reported.
Thousands of adults and children were at Temple Square, the church’s headquarters, to attend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ general conference sessions, a worldwide gathering for Mormons held during the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October.
The general conference, held at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, gets broadcast to congregations around the world, according to the church’s website.
Anderson was seen “completely disrobing his clothes and was completely naked,” according to a police affidavit obtained by KSL.
Children were present when Anderson stripped naked, police said.
Anderson was later confronted by church security who covered him with a blanket. It was not immediately clear why he took off his clothes and whether he was seen over the global broadcast at the time of the incident.
Anderson was arrested for the investigation of lewdness involving a child, which is a misdemeanor.
He was booked in the Salt Lake County jail.
Temple Square, located in downtown Salt Lake City, serves as the worldwide headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
