Trump Tower Climber Claims He Just Wanted To Talk
Yesterday’s Trump Tower climber has since complicated the story a bit more. After pulling the 19-year-old from the side of the building, police say the young man was worn and tired. He had been climbing the tower for several hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu155Md0uAg
The young man was discovered to have driven his mother’s vehicle into New York on Tuesday from his home in Virginia. He was identified as Stephen Rogata, though police found several different IDs in the man’s backpack. His relatives have since told the authorities that Rogata was supposed to be in the city to be evaluated for a possible mental disability.
Instead, he began climbing the Trump Tower around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon with a few climbing ropes and some Mission Impossible-style suction cups. Witnesses say he climbed out from an atrium on the 56th Street side of the building.
For close to four hours, authorities played a delicate game of chess with Rogata. Chasing him around the outside of the building, they lowered a few window-washing rigs and broke a few windows out before finally catching up with the guy. Several attempts were made by police to coax the Trump Tower climber inside, but Stephen Rogata just kept climbing.
Close to 7 p.m., Rogata began to fade, and the NYPD was able to reach him. Stephen had climbed to the 21st floor of Trump Tower. Police had to completely remove a whole window pane to grab the climber. The guy even tried to continue climbing to get away from authorities, but they snatched him up quickly and pulled him inside.
A crowd had gathered on the street below to see the fate of the Trump Tower climber. Upon his capture, onlookers began cheering and applauding the work of the New York Police Department. Christopher William, the ESU officer who grabbed the climber, spoke afterward, saying that he “lowered a safety line to him… and he refused to take the line.”
Upon capture, the climber kept repeating that he just wanted to continue climbing, saying, “I just want to talk to Trump!”
Police took the man to the local hospital for psychological evaluation, but he will likely be charged after the testing is completed.
The Interesting Part
While Stephen was climbing Trump Tower, he dropped a flier to the crowd below referencing a video he had posted earlier in the day on YouTube. The video was intended to make clear the climber’s purpose so the NYPD would know that he meant no harm.
After further investigation of the video, Rogata was quoted saying, “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. 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.”
The Trump Tower climber risked life and limb to attract the audience of the millionaire mogul. There was a point during his climbing venture that he was almost taken out by a large piece of falling glass. There was a point where the police got very tense because the man reached into his bag for a drink. Any number of scenarios could have quickly ended Stephen Rogata’s life.
It will be interesting to see how much validation Trump extends to the now-infamous Trump Tower climber. He has not specifically mentioned the incident on a public level except to congratulate the NYPD on a job well done.
Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2016
[Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
