Empire State Building daredevil couple facing deportation if convicted on felony charges
Published in News & Features
NEW YORK — A daredevil’s death-defying viral proposal to his girlfriend atop the Empire State Building could result in their deportation to Russia — and land him on the front lines of the war in Ukraine — an attorney for the couple said.
Speaking outside of Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday, attorney Noam Biale said his clients Ivan “Vanya” Kuznetsov and Angelina Nikolau are in the country on talent visas, and that the couple faces“potentially catastrophic immigration consequences” as long as prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office continue to pursue felony charges for climbing to the top of the iconic skyscraper for their adrenaline-pumping proposal on July 1.
And if the couple is deported to Russia, Nikolau will likely be arrested and Kuznetsov will find himself being shipped off to a warzone, Biale said.
“If sent back to Russia, Mr. Kuznetsov will almost certainly be sent to fight in the war in Ukraine,” Biale told reporters outside Manhattan Criminal Court.
The couple faces three felony charges, including reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and burglary.
The lawyer went on to accuse prosecutors of a “bait and switch,” claiming they were offered a misdemeanor plea deal by phone, only to receive an email rescinding the offer on Thursday.
“We didn’t damage any property at the Empire State Building,” Kuznetsov said Thursday.
“We wanted to share a message of peace,” Nikolau said.
Prosecutors in court Thursday said that no deal was ever formally offered the defendants and that, while discussions may continue, they are currently not prepared to extend an offer.
Scenes of the couple atop the gleaming Midtown skyscraper in record-degree heat that went viral around the world showed Kuznetsov getting down on one knee and proposing to his beaming girlfriend.
The pair also unfurled a banner that read “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace” 1,454 feet above the ground.
After being notified the couple were up on the antenna around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, police discovered a lock had been broken on a security door on the building’s 104th floor, which is closed off to the public and leads to the tip-top of the building, according to the criminal complaint. The floor can’t be reached without accessing the 102nd floor with a key card.
The antenna had to be powered down so NYPD cops could safely approach the couple due to the spire’s dangerous high-frequency radio signals, according to a criminal complaint.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers waited about 30 minutes before climbing up to the antenna, where the couple “persisted” and “could not be easily extricated, and in doing so they had placed the officers in a highly dangerous situation,” the complaint reads.
Judge Janice Chen granted the couple supervised release, requiring the couple to regularly check in with the city while their cases are pending.
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