Traffic around Trump Tower came to a halt today when a man later identified as “Steve from Virginia” was seen scaling the side of the building using nothing but four oversized suction cups and a backpack.
People spotted him on the wrong side of the 5th floor a little after 4 PM today
@ABC there is a man scaling Trump Towers with cops watching pic.twitter.com/JbW6EjAIxM
— Jason Chu (@JasonC1219) August 10, 2016
By 4:45 PM, police had cut a hole through an air vent in an attempt to grab him as he scaled the tower
NYPD has cut through a vent and will likely attempt to grab Trump Tower climber. pic.twitter.com/opPe2dSMjZ
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) August 10, 2016
Which prompted him to move to a side of a building with no vents, forcing the police to smash a window open instead
#TrumpTowerClimber is giving us a really easy idea for a Halloween costume #Stevefromvirginia pic.twitter.com/1orBlk3NPJ
— Martha Sheridan (@MSheridanMartha) August 10, 2016
Which is when he exchanged words with police and identified himself
Man climbing #trumptower has told police his name is Steve and he’s from Virginia.
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) August 10, 2016
Clear shots of his face made their way to social media
BREAKING: #SteveFromVirginia has been forcibly removed from #TrumpTower . pic.twitter.com/EU8fHqxAAA
— James Avatar (@jamesavatar) August 10, 2016
And shortly before 6 PM, this video was uncovered and began circulating on YouTube, where Steve cites that his sole reason for climbing is to meet Donald Trump
Around 6:30 PM, police were able to yank Steve from Virginia indoors
Trump Tower climber pulled in by NYPD #TrumpClimber pic.twitter.com/pcr7eRbtWm
— Anthony Quintano (@AnthonyQuintano) August 10, 2016
Videos and pictures are still being posted all over social media of the daring stunt
MANHATTAN: A man is using “suction cups” to climb up Trump Tower in NYC, he has papers saying Trump on it. VIDEO: pic.twitter.com/IEKtk7CBFM
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) August 10, 2016
#LetSteveClimb began trending on Twitter before he was taken in
#STEVEFROMVIRGINIA
You can do it Steve! Climb that tower! pic.twitter.com/lmuSzTMYDn— #TEAMPHAN (@Lizziethephan) August 10, 2016
Everyone is still confused, but that didn’t stop the memes from popping up
#LetSteveClimb pic.twitter.com/FbCJmPwhG8
— Parriah Pottymouth (@PariahPotimouth) August 10, 2016
And they’re pretty decent off the bat
#SteveFromVirginia has the right idea! pic.twitter.com/BBzrhGCeiT
— SOCIALFLY® (@Socialfly) August 10, 2016
In the end, he was wheeled out on a stretcher
“Human fly” who used suction pads to climb up #TrumpTower wheeled out on a stretcher. Not believed seriously harmed pic.twitter.com/q7Ypg1KS1C
— Harriet Alexander (@h_alexander) August 10, 2016
We’ll fill you in as soon as news is released.