Video footage has emerged showing the couple who scaled the Empire State Building antenna being arrested immediately afterward.
The couple, a man and a woman, climbed to the top of the Empire State Building antenna on Wednesday so that they could unfurl a virtue-signaling banner and so that the male could propose to the female.
Afterward, they were arrested.
Graphic footage of the arrest, which occurred at the top of the Empire State Building, can be seen in a video posted to social media by New York Police Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
An additional video recorded from the bottom of the Empire State Building showed the two being escorted out of the facility and into police custody:
Video shows climbers being arrested after scaling the Empire State Building’s 1,450-foot spire and getting engaged at the top pic.twitter.com/2YcsahSZxM https://t.co/V19Ub4QoDi
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 2, 2026
Both of them now face charges including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct.
Disgraced former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN that the stunt put officials in a “tough spot.”
“They are going to have to do whatever they can to see that these people are prosecuted for any appropriate charges because they cannot take the chance that others will see this and decide to also try it,” he stressed.
“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,” he added.
But the two are not new to crazy stunts. Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, and Angelina Nikolau, 33, are self-proclaimed “rooftoppers” with a history of climbing and posing atop the world’s tallest buildings, according to Time magazine.
The two even have their own 2024 Netflix documentary titled “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
“[T]he 2024 documentary featured them climbing the likes of 1,955-ft (596 m) Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin, China, and Malaysia’s 2,227-ft (679 m) Merdeka 118,” according to Time. “The documentary showed how they bypassed building security before scaling the buildings.”
Watch a trailer of the film below:
(Video Credit: Netflix)
“When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,” the virtue-signaling banner they unfurled read.
After they unfurled the banner, Kuznetsov got on his knee to propose.
The officials who run the Empire State Building appear to be taking this spectacle lightly, with a spokesperson telling reporters that there was “at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.”
The spokesperson also appeared to lean into the incident, describing it as “a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”
A spokesperson for @EmpireStateBldg says “It is to be emphasized that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the World’s Most Famous Building in the center of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals” https://t.co/eN4v9v4rpN
— Sean Langille (@SeanLangille) July 1, 2026
However, John Cleary, a former chief broadcast engineer for New York CBS affiliate WCBS, warned that the two were likely exposed to high levels of radio-frequency (RF) radiation and electrical energy while atop the Empire State Building.
“There’s a lot of danger up there,” he told WCBS. “Most of the time that the guys [technicians] climb the tower, it’s at night where they shut off the transmitters. There’s a lot of FM transmitters up there right now.”
“Most of the time, the guys, if they do have to climb live, they’ll wear a suit that does reject the RF. Without it, you know, you can get burned, you know, and it burns in a different way. It burns you like a microwave oven,” he added.
(Video Credit: CBS New York)
Speaking with CNN, Elisa Morales, who witnessed the climb while on her lunch break in Midtown Manhattan, said she wasn’t impressed by the proposal but did appreciate the stunt nevertheless.
“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 said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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