Russian Daredevils Get Engaged Atop Empire State Building, Then Arrested by NYPD

Russian rooftoppers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus became the latest talking point online after scaling the antenna of New York's Empire State Building on July 1, unfurling a banner before staging a dramatic marriage proposal nearly 1,454 feet above the ground. The couple, dressed in black with their faces covered, were later taken into police custody once they descended.

Footage captured by news helicopters showed the pair perched atop the building's spire, displaying a banner referencing a Jimi Hendrix quote that read, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace." Beerkus then got down on one knee and proposed to Nikolau, who accepted, later showing off her ring on social media.

Angela Nikolau , 33, and Ivan Beerkus , 32, are known globally as pioneers of rooftopping , an unregulated extreme sport involving climbing skyscrapers without safety gear. The couple began climbing together in 2016 and were profiled in the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story , which chronicled their ascent of Malaysia's Merdeka 118, once dubbed the last super skyscraper on the planet. Nikolau, a former gymnast and daughter of circus performers, has described picking locks and disguising themselves as construction staff to access restricted areas during their climbs.

According to police, NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers harnessed themselves and climbed to meet the duo halfway up the spire, taking them into custody just before 1pm local time. The couple was charged with felony burglary , reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, along with misdemeanour offences including criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and possession of burglar's tools. Investigators believe the pair accessed the spire through a locked maintenance hatch on the 102nd floor observation deck.

This is not the couple's first brush with the law, as Nikolau has previously stated in the documentary that they had been arrested before during their years of climbing towers across the globe. An Empire State Building spokesperson confirmed there was at no time any danger to tenants or visitors, adding that the incident was resolved through coordination with the NYPD. The couple had recently relocated from Moscow to New York, with Nikolau writing on social media about adjusting to life in a new city just months before the viral stunt.