Stephen Rogata, the daredevil who made a failed attempt to meet Donald Trump in New York on Wednesday, is now facing jail time and stiff fines a day after he used suction cups to climb the 68-story glass Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.
Rogata, 19, was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass, New York City officials said on Thursday. The ascent is said to have been an attempt to meet the building’s famous namesake.
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The campaign headquarters for Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, are inside the tower, along with the penthouse condominium he calls home. Wearing a backpack, shorts and climbing equipment, Rogata spent two hours steadily moving up the glass facade as the New York Police Department’s special operations division made repeated attempts to coax him into the building. The stunt drew hundreds of onlookers onto the sidewalks below and countless more to computer screens, where they watched as officers finally grabbed him and pulled him through a 21st-story window after removing the glass panel. h/t reuters
Rogata, who lives in Great Falls, Virginia, addressed Trump in a bizarre Youtube video, 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 said, before encouraging people to vote for Trump.
(Photo: REUTERS)