Russian daredevils Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, known as ambassadors for the urban climbing pursuit known as “rooftopping,” were taken into custody on Wednesday.
Two Russian nationals were arrested in New York City on Wednesday following an unauthorized climb atop the Empire State Building that doubled as a protest stunt and an apparent marriage proposal.
Footage captured by a news helicopter showed the pair, dressed in black, embracing on the skyscraper’s main antenna approximately 1,454 feet (443 meters) above street level. From their perch—well above the building’s highest public observatory—they unfurled a banner reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
It remains unclear how the couple gained access to the restricted antenna structure. Police body-camera footage released later in the day documented an officer ascending a ladder to reach them. “How are you doing?” the officer asked while climbing, before instructing the pair, “Well, you can’t be up here.”
The climbers have been identified as Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, who gained prominence through the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. The film chronicles their shared passion for “rooftopping,” an unregulated urban sport involving the scaling of skyscrapers and cranes.
Angela’s father, Dmitriy Nikolau, a Russian circus artist, told Reuters he was not concerned by the stunt and had prior knowledge of the climb. “Why should I be worried? I climb up roofs myself,” he said. “I think it is normal to climb up a roof in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution.”
In a statement, an Empire State Building spokesperson characterized the event as an “unauthorized incident” and noted that the couple could have instead purchased the building’s $1,000 “Happily Ever Empire Proposal Package” to mark their engagement legally and safely.
