NEW YORK -- A man climbing Trump Tower in New York City shut down traffic on 5th Avenue for hours Wednesday as emergency crews worked to get him down.
The climb started around 4 p.m., and ended shortly after 6:30 p.m.
The man, who hasn't yet been identified, used a series of large suction cups to climb up the side of the building and away from crews attempting to reach him.
Police and firefighters remove windows and ventilation ducts in an attempt to reach him, and even lowered a window cleaning scaffold.
He was eventually brought into the building through a 21st story window without injury.
Michael Cohen, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, released the following statement about the climb:
"This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt. There's damage to the building and he caused the unnecessary deployment of New York's finest to protect his safety and the safety of everyone in the building. He's caused the shutdown of traffic on 5th Avenue. I'm 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do. If Mr. Trump were here, he'd be thanking law enforcement for the job they're doing."
A man bearing a strong resemblance to the climber posted a video to YouTube on Tuesday titled "Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower)" in which he claims to want a "private audience" with Trump.
This is a photo of the man who climbed Trump Tower in New York https://t.co/6GkcFbBntH pic.twitter.com/R01GRcBmYr
— CNN (@CNN) August 10, 2016
"I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it is in your interest to honor this request. Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities. I will get my contact information to your campaign so that if you are interested you can respond."
The man then encourages viewers to help make the video go viral, and to vote for Trump in November.
It's likely the climber will face charges, although it wasn't immediately clear what those would be.
