Trump Tower Climber Now Faces Charges

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/12/nyregion/trump-tower-climber-stephen-rogata.html

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The man whose brazen climb of Trump Tower riveted people across the country has been charged, the police said on Thursday.

The man, identified as Stephen Rogata, 19, of Great Falls, Va., now faces charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing in connection with the unauthorized ascent of the Fifth Avenue building on Wednesday, the police said.

A police spokesman said on Thursday morning that Mr. Rogata was still being evaluated at Bellevue Hospital Center, where he had been taken shortly after he was subdued by the police during a dramatic encounter as he tried to scale past the 21st floor of the building.

Mr. Rogata checked into the Bowery Grand Hotel on Tuesday around 10 p.m. after driving from Virginia, the police said. The car he used, a 1998 Honda, was found in Downtown Brooklyn, they said. A spokesman said the police believed Mr. Rogata’s birth name is Michael Joseph Ryan. (Police officials initially said he was 20 years old.)

The police said Mr. Rogata told them his stunt had a simple motivation: He wanted to meet Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president.

Officers recovered a spiral notebook with multiple handwritten notes referring to a YouTube video titled “Message to Mr. Trump (Why I Climbed Your Tower),” the police said. The video, which was widely shared before the police confirmed the connection, depicts a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt who speaks in a solemn tone, saying he is seeking to discuss an “important matter” with the presidential candidate. He ends by urging people to vote for Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump thanked the New York Police Department on Twitter after the climb was over.

The police said that Mr. Rogata’s roughly three-hour climb began around 3:30 p.m. After being alerted by a 911 caller, officers found the man about five floors up the exterior of the building, using power-grip suction cups to aid his climb. He was taken into custody after the police removed the glass panes from windows on the 21st floor and a team of officers wrestled him into the building.