A man equipped with suction cups and climbing gear was safely snatched into the Trump Tower here on Wednesday, after a nearly three-hour standoff with the police.
The man began his ascend around 4 p.m. on the south side of the 58-story building that served as the residency and campaign headquarters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The stunt had brought the busy mid-town Manhattan to a halt, attracting thousands of onlookers who gathered at the southwest and southeast corner of the building on East 56th Street.
City police and emergency responders had rushed to the scene, bringing ladders, a high-rise window cleaning lift and giant inflated cushions in effort to stop the climber.
Police officers had smashed a couple of windows as the man slowly scaled the building, moving from the south side to the east to avoid comprehension.
At around 6:35 p.m., the man was finally cornered by the police on the 21st floor and subsequently pulled inside through a window. The crowd exclaimed with relief.
"It was crazy," said onlooker Gahhan Haskins, who happens to be a Trump supporter. Haskins believed the stunt would not hurt the presidential campaign of Trump, who was in Virginia holding a rally.
The climber's identity and motives were not clear yet, but a Youtube video posted on Tuesday showed a man resembling the climber said he was a supporter of Trump's campaign.
