Couple arrested after daring Empire State marriage proposal stunt
Two Russian nationals were arrested in New York City after they climbed the Empire State Building's antenna and displayed a banner with a marriage proposal. A news helicopter captured video of them kissing and unfurling the banner.
A protest stunt and apparent marriage proposal on top of the Empire State Building has led to the arrest of two people in New York City. Video shot by a US news helicopter on Wednesday showed two people dressed in black appearing to kiss on top of the iconic skyscraper’s main antenna. They unfurled a banner inscribed with the words, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” from their perch about 443 meters (1,454 feet) above the ground.
It was not clear how the pair gained access to the antenna, which is located well above the publicly accessible areas in the 102-story building. Police body camera footage released later showed an officer sent to retrieve the daredevils, who told them, “Well, you can’t be up here.”
The arrested couple have since been identified as Russian nationals Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau. They appeared in a 2024 Netflix documentary called Skywalkers: A Love Story, which chronicled their shared interest in “rooftopping,” an urban sport that involves scaling city buildings.
Dmitriy Nikolau, Angela’s father, who was identified by Reuters as a Russian circus artist, said he had prior knowledge of his daughter’s climb. “I think it is normal to climb up a roof in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution,” he told Reuters.
An Empire State Building spokesperson described Wednesday’s climb as an “unauthorized incident” and suggested the couple should have instead bought the building’s $1,000 “Happily Ever Empire Proposal Package” to mark their engagement.
