A man who wanted an “audience” with Donald Trump spent three hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower on Wednesday using large suction cups, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window.
The climber, identified by police as a 20-year-old Virginia man, wore a backpack and used a harness and rope stirrups to fasten himself to the side of the 68-story Manhattan skyscraper.
For a long time, the climber played a slow-motion cat-and-mouse game with would-be rescuers. Officers smashed windows and broke through ventilation ducts to block his progress. Police also lowered themselves toward him using a window washer’s platform.
The man kept his distance by methodically working his way back and forth across the facade, repeatedly repositioning suction cups resembling a type commonly used by window washers to remove big panes of glass.
The chase ended dramatically just after 6:30 p.m.
As a crowd gasped on the street below, two officers leaned far out of a window, grabbed the climber’s arm and harness, and in a flash yanked him from his dangling stirrups. He went through the opening head first, his legs pointed skyward.
“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.
Police had deployed large, inflated crash pads at the scene, but it was unclear how much protection they would have offered if the climber fell.
A day before the ascent, police said the climber posted a video on YouTube entitled, “Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower).” 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.
“I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it’s in your interest to honor this request,” he said. “Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower is to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities.”
NYPD Assistant Chief William Aubrey said the man, who was not named by police, told officers the same thing after he was safely inside the building.
“At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody,” he said.
The tower is headquarters to Donald Trump’s Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, though he was in Virginia in the afternoon and was headed to Florida for an evening event.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt,” Michael Cohen, an executive at the Trump Organization, said in an emailed statement. “I’m 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do.”
Later Wednesday evening, Trump tweeted “Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber.”
The climber began his ascent from a terrace that is open to the public during the day. Police said he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Will anybody listen to his message.
Reminds me of movies where kids
Know something and no one listens.
Just maybe…..this young man may
Have something on his mind.
Someone better find out what’s so important before there’s another mysterious death. Although if I were Mr.Trump I would not meet with him. There are many ways he could go without making himself look like a crazy person.
You didn’t even answer the question why he did it as so boldly proclaimed in the title…
“I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it’s in your interest to honor this request,” he said. “Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower is to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities.”
That paragraph does not tell me WHY? Thank you for wasting my time.
This reminds me of the time Kris Kristoferson landed a helicopter in Johnny Cash’s back yard (this was before Kris was well known) because he wanted Johnny to see his songs. He knew regular requests through channels would be ignored. At the time people thought it was brilliant. And it was. But this guy, they’re calling a freak. Personally I thought it was pretty ballsy, and effective. He got the whole countries attention.
Mr. Trump should invite this kid and at least listen to what he’s gonna say. I don’t think he’s crazy at all. He risk his life just to tell him one thing , who knows it will save his life and our country!
He’s either an attention starved kook or has something important to say. If it’s the latter he’d best be careful since he’s now got the attention of the Clintons as well!!
Yes. In the case of Kris, it was songs like “Sunday morning coming down” and “Bobby McGee”.
BRAVO !
JUST SEND THIS ATTENTION SEEKER THE TOTAL BILL FOR HIS MOMENT OF GLORY. THIS MUST COVER THE NUMBER OF POLICE, SAFETY AND SECURITY PERSONNEL CALLED OUT, THE CLOSURE OF THE THE STREET, THE LOSS OF BUSINESS EARNINGS DUE TO THIS DOWN TIME ETC., ETC. THEREAFTER PURSUE HIM USING ALL LEGAL CHANNELS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH FOR PAYMENT. BANKRUPT HIM IF NECESSARY. ADVERTISE THIS FACT. ONLY SUCH METHODS WILL TEACH NOT ONLY THIS YOUNG MAN BUT ANY OTHER PERSON WITH AN ILLUSIONARY AXE TO GRIND WITH SOCIETY TO STOP WASTING RESOURCES THAT COULD BE BETTER APPLIED ELSEWHERE.
I agree that since this young man was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to see Trump, that Trump should at least send a trusted intermediary to find out what he has to say – after he’s thoroughly searched, first, of course. It should be a video recording, too, just in case the intermediary is not as trustworthy – or has as great a memory – as Trump thinks.
Care to guess how many emails, tweets, facebook msg.s, letters and etc. Trump gets per day? Even an ARMY of screeners would not be able to get through the backlog, and even then, how much info would get to the man, himself?
i daresay that upon investigation, it’s likely to be discovered that he’s been trying to get through via other means for some time.
Of course, he could simply be a nutbar with fairydust sprinkles, too … hence the intermediary.