Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Trump Tower Suction-Cup Climber Avoids Jail Time with Guilty Plea

By Noah Hurowitz | February 27, 2017 4:08pm
 Steven Rogata used suction cups to scale the side of Trump Tower on Aug. 10.
Steven Rogata used suction cups to scale the side of Trump Tower on Aug. 10.
View Full Caption
Ben Fractenberg

MIDTOWN — A Virginia teen who climbed Trump Tower using suction cups pleaded guilty Monday under an agreement that allows him to avoid jail time as long as he continues mental-health treatment and steers clear of President Donald Trump, authorities said.

Stephen Rogata, 19, admitted to crimes of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct in connection to his Aug. 10 stunt, which he said at the time was an attempt to bring “secret information” to Trump in the middle of his presidential campaign.

As part of the plea, Rogata will be required to continue his studies at a community college in Virginia or work 20 hours per week, according to his lawyer, Paul Shechtman. If Rogata stays out of trouble for a year, he will be able to have the misdemeanor endangerment charge dismissed, leaving him without a criminal record, Schechtman said.

“It’s not completely behind him, but he’s very happy at the prospect of resolving this without a criminal record,” Schechtman said. 

The plea deal requires Rogata to stay away from Trump Tower, as well as avoid all contact with Trump in any manner, including on Twitter or other social media, according to Schechtman and a spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Schechtman declined to discuss the specifics of Rogata’s mental-health treatment in Virginia, but he was held at Bellevue Hospital for a time after his August arrest, and his court-appointed lawyer at the time of his arraignment speculated that he was going through a mental-health crisis.

Rogata, a one-time volunteer for the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign, undertook the dangerous climb using heavy-duty suction cups in an attempt to gain an audience with the then-presidential hopeful, his lawyer said at the time.

Rogata prepared for the climb by buying the heavy-duty suction cups several weeks prior from Amazon, and then practiced for the stunt on a three-story building near his home in Great Falls, Virginia, Assistant District Attorney Pierre Griffiths said at arraignment.

The stunt captivated broadcast news and passersby, and forced police to close off the blocks around Trump Tower — an early premonition of the security operation that would later surround the building following Trump’s surprise victory in November.

During the climb, a laptop and other items fell from Rogata’s backpack and crashed onto a fifth-floor landing, causing no injuries.

Rogata also refused multiple attempts by police to coax him inside as he climbed, according to Griffith.

“No thanks, I’m not taking the rope,” Rogata told police at one point. “I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but I’m going to see Trump.”

He was initially charged with BASE jumping, criminal trespass, and trespass, all misdemeanor charges that prosecutors agreed to dismiss as part of the plea deal.