The climber, a bearded man apparently in his 20s, began his ascent of the 58-story building at around 2:45 p.m., and had reached the twelfth floor within an hour, according to a witness.
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Donald Trump owns the Trump Tower in which his house is also located on the top floors of the huge building, while his office is located in the lower floors.
The NYPD said Thursday that the climber was 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia.
Police have now charged the man who climbed the Trump Tower on Wednesday in an effort to have a personal audience with the presidential candidate.
According to a police report in Fairfax County, Virginia, the teen’s parents reported him missing in November 2014. The clip, titled “Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower)”, stars a man believed to be Rogata explaining his actions in a 1:01-minute long video.
His family lives about 20 miles from Washington, D.C. and he traveled to the city to climb the tower.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Throughout the almost three-hour climb, the man rebuffed all attempts by police to lure him to safety. He had no intention of hurting anyone, he told police.
“Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber”, he tweeted.
Live television footage showed uniformed NY police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man with curly auburn hair – dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap – some three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. A law enforcement source said he dropped a flier while he was climbing, and it referenced his YouTube video, which was posted under the name Leven Thumps, a character in a series of children’s fantasy novels by the writer Obert Skye.
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Police officers smashed a window and ventilation duct in an attempt to block the man’s path. “I just don’t know how many people will watch this”. Detectives determined quickly that Rogata posed a threat only to himself and responding officers, who had to rescue him off the building. He “performed a ridiculous and unsafe stunt”, a statement from Trump Organization executive Michael Cohen was quoted. “The reason I climbed your tower was to get yourattention”. “I’m 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do”.
