Officers from the NYPD attempt to detain a man as he climbs the outside of Trump Tower. PHOTO: REUTERS
Stephen Rogata, 19, from Great Falls in Virginia, was captured and dragged through a window on the 21st floor of the 68-storey skyscraper around three hours after he embarked on his dare-devil stunt Wednesday.
Trump Tower climber captured after three-hour ascent
New York police said Thursday that he had been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, whom police said Rogata wanted to meet, was out of town at the time on the campaign trail.
In a tweet late Wednesday, the Republican nominee praised the "great job" done by police in "protecting the people and saving the climber".
Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2016
Rogata's climb, on a hot and humid afternoon, was captured live on television and mesmerized onlookers who gathered below, where police deployed airbags in case he fell.
The teenager was initially taken by paramedics to Bellevue Hospital to be checked over by medics. Television footage showed him being wheeled out of Trump Tower on a stretcher Wednesday evening.
In an anonymous YouTube video, titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.
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"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," the man said.
"Please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr Trump and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election," he added.
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