The two people from New Jersey who bypassed security around noon Wednesday to scale the top of the Empire State Building while unfurling a 440 m banner in favor of love and peace in the world have been arrested.
• Also read: ON VIDEO | Two masked people climb the top of the Empire State Building
Ivan Kuznetsov, aged 32, is shown in a video relayed on social networks proposing to his girlfriend Angela Nikolau, 33, both twirling between heaven and earth on the tip of this emblematic New York monument, 443 m high.
The masked couple dressed in black held up a large banner reading “When the power of love surpasses the love of power, the world knows peace,” according to what CNN reported.
Screenshot taken from Instagram/Angela Nikolau
The 33-year-old woman has also published several photos and videos of this unusual getaway on her Instagram account, one of which shows an engagement ring on her finger with the city as a background.
But this adventure of budding mountaineers went wrong for the two lovebirds who were handcuffed to face several charges, including burglary, mischief, endangering others and criminal trespass.
Screenshot taken from Instagram/Angela Nikolau
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN the dangerous action put city officials and law enforcement as well as the building’s owners in a difficult situation.
“What those in charge of the Empire State Building fear most is that it becomes a target for this type of activity, because it will inevitably end in tragedy,” Mr. McCabe said.
