After about three hours, the NYPD was able to grab him after removing a large window pane from the 21st floor and drag him inside to safety.
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Police have charged him with reckless endangerment and criminal trespassing.
According to a police report in Fairfax County, Virginia, the teen’s parents reported him missing in November 2014.
A campaign spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He was being evaluated at a hospital.
NY billionaire and real estate developer Donald Trump lives in a marble triplex at the top of the 68-story building, which is also the headquarters of his Trump Organization and election campaign. Officers smashed windows and broke through ventilation ducts to block his progress. NYPD crews had to pull him inside the building through an open window.
The slow-motion drama started around 3:30 p.m., as he ascended using suction cups that he apparently purchased for around a $100 each. He went through the opening head first, his legs pointed skyward.
“I reached out, took hold of his hand and said, ‘Sir, you need to come with me, ‘” said Detective Christopher Williams, who grabbed the climber.
NYPD Chief William Aubry said to the Daily News that “his sole intention was to meet with Mr. Trump”, who was not in NY at the time. He posted the video under the name Leven Thumps, which is a character in a series of children’s fantasy novels by the writer Obert Skye.
In a video uploaded to YouTube a day earlier, Rogata, who lives in Great Falls, Virginia, addressed Trump, saying he was an “independent researcher” who needed a private audience with the billionaire to discuss an unspecified important matter.
“The reason I climbed your Tower was to get your attention”, he says in a monotone. Believe me, if my objective was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it.
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“To clear things up, this is NOT me trying to scale the Trump Tower in NYC”.
