Trump Tower climber hospitalized after escapade

NEW YORK – A man who said he was seeking “a private audience” with Donald Trump by climbing the Republican presidential candidate’s skyscraper was hospitalized on Thursday after his arrest a day earlier on charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing.

The New York Police Department identified the climber as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia. It was unclear when Rogata would appear in court or if he had an attorney who could comment for him.

Rogata made a spectacle of himself on Wednesday by spending three hours scaling the glass facade of the 68-story Trump Tower in Manhattan using large suction cups before officers hauled him to safety through an open window. He was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

A day before the ascent, police said, the climber posted an online video addressing Trump. He called himself an “independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter” and said he was willing to risk his life “to get your attention.”

Police were treating the tower climb as a potentially dangerous stunt, saying there was no indication Rogata wanted to hurt anyone.

The tower is headquarters to Trump’s presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, but he wasn’t there at the time.