2 arrested, arraigned after scaling top of Empire State Building

By Ray Sanchez, Mark Morales, John Miller, Chris Boyette, CNN

New York (CNN) — Two climbers who scaled the spire of the Empire State Building in a daring stunt were arraigned Thursday on felony charges and released under court supervision, a day after they evaded security to unfurl a banner about 1,450 feet above the sweltering city and appeared to mark their engagement.

Angelina Nikolau, 33, who goes by Angela, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, face charges including burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, according to the criminal complaint. The charges are not bail-eligible under New York law, and the pair are due back in court August 24, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors described the pair in court as social media influencers who engage in extreme risk-taking behavior, including breaking into restricted areas of commercial buildings, hanging from rooftops and free-climbing skyscrapers, according to the DA’s office. Kuznetsov later told the NYPD he wanted to “do something special for his engagement,” prosecutors said in court.

An attorney for the couple, Jason Krinsky, told reporters outside the courtroom that the district attorney’s office overcharged his clients and said it was “premature” for him to make a statement.

“We’re going to deal with this in the court, in the proper channels of the court,” he said.

“I mean, come on, what a, what a way to propose…” he added. “You gotta give him some credit for that.”

Hiding overnight before the climb

The breach of security at one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks occurred around noon Wednesday during a whirlwind summer in the city. It comes weeks after the New York Knicks’ first championship in 53 years led to raucous, sometimes destructive celebrations. It also comes amid a heightened NYPD presence during World Cup matches and ahead of an expected wedding celebration for pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden.

The duo entered the building as visitors the day before the stunt and hid inside after closing, according to a law enforcement source. Security camera footage showed the pair hiding in the observatory complex, the source said. Video also showed Nikolau popping out of a hatch in the floor in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday and emerging into the observatory complex near the top of the building.

The pair then maneuvered around a gate secured with cable locks and cut two locks on the 104th floor, the source said. The first 911 call came in seconds after noon.

The broadcast antenna — which emits high-frequency radio signals powerful enough to harm the human body — had to be powered down for about 30 minutes before officers with the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit could safely approach the climbers, according to the criminal complaint. Officers wearing harnesses then climbed roughly 1,250 feet above the ground to reach the pair. Damage to a broken security door lock on the 104th floor is estimated at about $2,000, according to the complaint.

“Stay where you are,” an officer said in bodycam video recorded high above the city.

“How are you doing? You can’t be up here,” the officer said.

“I’m OK,” the woman responded, her face blurred by police in the video.

Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy director, told CNN the stunt put city and police officials, as well as the building owners, in a “tough spot.”

“The last thing that people who are responsible for the Empire State Building want is to turn this place into a target for that sort of activity, because ultimately it will end in some sort of tragedy. The danger here, the recklessness, is obvious and can’t be overstated,” McCabe added.

At an unrelated NYPD crime statistics news conference Thursday, Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the Emergency Service Unit officers who responded to the stunt.

Tisch called the bodycam footage “harrowing” and said it “can take your breath away.”

“When people in New York City need help, they call 911. When police officers need help, they call the men and women of our Emergency Service Unit,” Tisch said. “These are men and women of uncommon valor.”

Chief Michael LiPetri said the felony charges send a message. The pair face “serious felony charges” including burglary and reckless endangerment, LiPetri said, thanking the Manhattan district attorney’s office for its work on the arraignments. “There’s going to be consequences,” he said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani echoed the appreciation for officers. “These incredible results that we are here to speak about, they are not inevitable. They do not deliver themselves. They are delivered by so many,” Mamdani said.

A spokesperson for the Empire State Building called the stunt “unauthorized” and thanked the NYPD for its help. “There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

Daredevil influencers with a following

Investigators believe the pair also aimed to monetize their social media accounts and generate publicity for another documentary, a law enforcement source told CNN.

Nikolau posted photos and video from the climb on Instagram, including a shot of her engagement ring with the city in the background.

Her account features dozens of posts showing Nikolau and Kuznetsov, who goes by Ivan Beerkus, posing at the top of various buildings and tall structures.

A pinned post at the top of her page promotes “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” a 2024 Netflix documentary.

The streaming service describes the couple in the film’s description as “daredevil influencers” who “risk their romance freedom and lives to climb a mega-skyscraper.”

Netflix declined comment Wednesday.

The couple unfurled a banner atop the antenna that read, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” according to video and images from the scene.

After court Thursday, reporters asked Kuznetsov why they chose that message.

“Because we believe in love,” he said.

Air traffic control audio captured a conversation between an NYPD helicopter pilot and a LaGuardia air traffic controller during the stunt.

“What’s all the hoopla going on over there?” the air traffic controller asked, according to ATC.com.

“Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building at the top of the spire,” the officer responds.

“Oh, that’s awesome.”

“They had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top,” the officer said. “And he just proposed to her.”

Elisa Morales, on her lunch break in Midtown Manhattan, watched with others on nearby streets as the stunt unfolded.

“If it is a proposal, I don’t think that’s a proposal I would want, but I commend them for using something personal to try to make a more global impact,” she told CNN. “We just had the Knicks win a championship, so a lot of craziness went on there. I think right now in New York, you have to go to an extreme to try to top what’s been going on.”

The antenna at the top of the Empire State Building transmits broadcast signals for virtually all of New York’s local TV and radio stations.

Trespassing climbers have long been drawn to New York’s famous skyscrapers, despite the security.

A French daredevil known as “Spiderman” – Alain Robert – has scaled the Willis Tower, then called the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Building in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In 1974, Philippe Petit was arrested after a headline-making highwire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Brian Stelter, Jason Carroll, Jeff Winter, Sneha Dhandapani, David Williams, Graham Hurley and Jessica Prater contributed to this report.