According to police sources, faces eight charges: reckless endangerment, trespassing, disorderly conduct, burglary, criminal damage, possession of burglary tools, disorderly conduct, and violation of a local law.
On July 1, both were arrested after climbing the highest antenna of the Empire State Building in New York City without authorization. There, the man and the woman, both hooded, with their faces covered and dressed in black, They waved a banner with the motto in English “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace” and they became engaged to be married.
The suspects are Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, a Russian couple of skyscraper climbersboth based in East Orange, New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area.
The couple starred in the documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story in 2024.
Beerkus and Nikolau are known for climb skyscrapers without ropes or harnesses. In that documentary they recount, among other feats, how they climbed the Merdeka 118 tower in Kuala Lumpur, the second tallest structure in the world.
In an interview granted to Variety At that time, they commented that they had just moved to New York City and that they still had “buildings to conquer.”
On the social networks of the Empire State Building, the news was taken with humor, pointing out that the building offers options for marriage proposals on the viewpoint floors.