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Police Stop Man Climbing Trump Tower Using Suction Cups

By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
,
TIME
TIME
, and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
,
TIME
TIME
, and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 10, 2016, 8:42 PM ET
Man Climbs Trump Tower Using Suction Cups
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: A man identified as 'Steve from Virginia' climbs up the Trump Tower on August 10, 2016 in New York City. The man used suction cups to scale more than 20 stories of GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's signature skyscraper in Manhattan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)Drew Angerer/ Getty Images

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

Police apprehended a 20-year-old Virginia man who climbed Trump Tower on Wednesday.

The man scaled the building for about three hours late Wednesday afternoon before police grabbed him from a window around 6:30 p.m. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychological exam, and will be charged once police determine the appropriate course of action, officials said.

 

The man was attempting to climb to the top of Trump Tower in order to speak with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, police told reporters in a news conference. He posted a video to YouTube on Tuesday, saying he was an “independent researcher” seeking a private audience with Trump to “discuss an important matter.”

He also encouraged people to vote for Trump in the upcoming election.

“The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention,” he said in the video. “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.”

 

The man had made it to the sixth floor sub roof of the building’s south side around 4:30 p.m. and was continuing his climb, using a device made of suction cups, according to the NYPD. Authorities appeared to break a glass window above the man, but he quickly pivoted to the side and continued to climb.

A witness told ABC that the man was standing on the sub roof garden, which is open to the public, when he started climbing on the building’s East 56th Street side.

@fox5ny there is a man scaling Trump Tower! pic.twitter.com/48THanMgOk

— Jason Chu (@JasonC1219) August 10, 2016

Witnesses were confused about the climber’s purpose and posted several pictures of the climber on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Sophies_Word/status/763468204907913216

Here's a close-up shot of the man who is climbing Trump Tower in Manhattan https://t.co/rPEL6Kfa8w pic.twitter.com/VkIrePSVUo

— Mike Waterhouse (@MikeWaterhouse) August 10, 2016

Updated photo #TrumpClimber pic.twitter.com/8RslfgZesj

— Gerald Iorio (@Gerjersey) August 10, 2016

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