NEW YORK, Aug 11: A 20-year-old man from Virginia created an hours-long media spectacle when he climbed up 21 floors of the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan using suction cups and straps allegedly to get a “personal” meeting with Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The man, whose identity was not revealed, was safely pulled in the building by the police personnel after nearly three-hours yesterday evening.
The stunt was witnessed by hundreds of passerby and live on television as the news and visuals of his escapade circulated widely on social media.
Police said the man’s motive was to climb to the top of the tower and get a personal meeting with Trump, whose name is on the priciest real estate in Manhattan.
Trump was on his presidential campaign tour in Virginia. Security is tight around the tower, which is the site of Trump’s campaign launch and is also his residence.
The Republican presidential candidate responded through Twitter saying, “Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber.”
Personnel from the New York Police Department had to undertake elaborate safety measures as well as some extreme steps like breaking some windows in the Tower to pull the man inside the building.
They raised a ladder in an effort to stop him, but had to close it as he moved higher. Apart from breaking windows to reach him, police also placed inflated giant cushions below him in case he tumbled off the 58-story Trump headquarters.
The man was eventually pulled inside moments after he ascended to a tight spot near a large window removed by police.
Police later said the man had told them that he had posted a YouTube video on Tuesday titled “Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower).”
In the message a hooded man claimed he was an “independent researcher.”
“Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it,” the man said in the video.
“The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention”.
At the end of the entire episode, emergency responders brought the man out of the building on a stretcher and placed him in an ambulance. The man was then taken to a city hospital for mental evaluation.
Police said after being discharged from the hospital, he would be arrested and could be charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
The entire spectacle was watched by thousands online as passersby recorded videos of the climb and posted it on social media platforms.
Commander of NYPD emergency services Chief Vincent Giordano told reporters outside the Trump Tower that they were informed about the man at about 3:30 pm (local time) and thought they were responding to a case of a jumper.
Police personnel said they had warned him that the suction cups could cause the windows of the building to crack as he tried to continue the ascend. (PTI)
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