After being dragged into a window of Trump Tower by police officers, the guy reportedly identified himself to police as “Steve from Virginia” or “Stephen Rogata from Virginia”.
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The New York Police Department said on Twitter that the department’s special operations division and emergency crews had responded at Trump Tower’s address to the man climbing the building.
After a three-hour standoff, New York Police on Wednesday (Aug 10) arrested a man who was scaling the Trump Tower using suction cups and climbing gear here.
A stuntman tried to scale Trump’s crib in Manhattan using suction cups, but after a long live-streamed climb, he was hauled in by the NYPD on the 21st floor.
Witnesses say the man started climbing Donald Trump’s namesake skyscraper at about 4 p.m.
He speaks in a monotone voice and explains that he climbed Trump Tower to get the Republican presidential nominee’s attention. He also lives in the building but was not in NY at the time of incident, BBC reported.
Emergency services detailed the nearly three-hour operation in which crews tried to isolate the climber, after first trying to talk him down through a vent on the 5th floor.
He ended the video by showing support for Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump was spent Wednesday at rallies in Virginia and Florida Wednesday, and was not in NY at the time of the stunt.
“I reached out. I took hold of his hand and I said, ‘Sir, would you come with me, ‘” said detective Christopher Williams, who made the grab.
Following his climb, Rogata posted a video on YouTube entitled “Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower)”. “If my goal was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it”.
“He wanted to climb to the top so he could speak with Trump”, said Chief Vincent Giordano. But in a statement to press, Trump Organization official Michael Cohen called the climb “a ridiculous and unsafe stunt”. As previously reported, he was yanked into the building by NYPD after they removed various window panels.
Since he launched his controversial, media-saturated bid for the White House, the tower on New York’s prestigious Fifth Avenue has become a magnet for tourists.
“I’m 100% certain the NYPD had better things to do”, Cohen added.
“His sole intention was to meet with Mr. Trump”, Aubry said, adding that the man at no point posed a safety threat.
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Terraces and other parts of the building are open to the public during the day.
