Empire State Building climbers released from jail after court appearance

(NEW YORK) — A daredevil couple who climbed to the top of the Empire State Building on Wednesday were given supervised release following a brief court appearance Thursday.

Angelina Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, both Russians with a current address in East Orange, New Jersey, were held overnight at 100 Centre Street, where the Manhattan Criminal Court is located.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had been reviewing the charges and writing the criminal complaint overnight.

The couple appeared in court wearing the same black outfits they had during their stunt. Their next court appearance is August 24.

“We will do supervised release. We will do it at a low level,” the judge said.

Police and Empire State Building security personnel are reviewing surveillance video to determine how the two entered and evaded screening at the observation deck.

Nikolau and Kuznetsov, who have gained an online following for their death-defying skyscraper climbs around the world, stayed on top of the skyscraper for several minutes as cameras rolled on the action before coming down the spire, the New York Police Department said.

Kuznetsov, who is also known as Ivan Beerkus, appeared to propose to his longtime girlfriend before they were taken into custody.

Both face multiple charges — including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, violation of a local law, criminal tampering, disorderly conduct and possession of burglar’s tools — according to police.

Security was supposed to have been strengthened following previous attempts by trespassers to take selfies near the spire.

Officials said they believe the two may have observed building employees and used a worker entrance to get around the screening.

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