Trump Tower climber captured after three-hour ascent, wants meeting with nominee

A man spent three hours scaling Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, before police captured him through an open window Wednesday (Aug 10).

Live television footage showed uniformed New York police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man – dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap – around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups.

A 20-year-old Donald Trump supporter who scaled the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday for three hours using suction cups and a climbing harness was pulled inside through a window by police who had tried to coax him into the building throughout the escapade.

A screenshot from a live TV feed of the the man climbing Trump Tower. Photo by WABC

The man reached the 21st story of the 58-story tower on Fifth Avenue which is headquarters for the election campaign of Donald Trump, the U.S. Republican presidential nominee.

As the climber from Virginia who wore a backpack scaled the tower's glass exterior, police removed large window panels above him and several officers, some wearing helmets, stood at the windows. The climber shifted his route several times in what appeared to be an attempt to get around the police.

At a news conference later the New York Police Department said the unidentified man did not express a desire to harm anyone and said his mission was to get a meeting with Trump.

New York Police pull a climber into a window of Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 10, 2016. Photo by REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

“The climber has been taken into custody,” tweeted Sergeant Carlos Nieves from the police public information office.

Police said they had no immediate information about the person’s identity or his motive for scaling the glass skyscraper. They were alerted by the incident at around 3.40pm (3.40am on Thursday, Singapore time), the spokesman said.

In a video that was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, the man discussed climbing the tower in a message addressed to Trump. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and long hair was over his eyes. He referred to himself as an "independent researcher" seeking a private audience with Trump to discuss an unspecified important matter.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," he said in the video and then encouraged people to vote for Trump.

(APD)