Police had an hours-long standoff in Union Square on Thursday night after a man scaled a statue during a pro-Palestine protest before demanding world peace.
According to police sources, 39-year-old Maksim Katsnelson scaled the George Washington statue in the East Village park at around 8 p.m. He did not appear to be affiliated with a crowd of protesters who had marched to the green space.
Scaling the 26-foot monument and perching himself on the shoulders of the bronze effigy before wrapping his hands around the head, Maksim began yelling at the crowd below, declaring that he would not come down until the world is at peace.
“I am not coming down until there is peace in the Middle East, peace in Ukraine, peace in India,” Katsnelson shouted. “I am not coming down until we unite as one.”
Police pushed the growing crowd of spectators back as the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit arrived with a cherry picker to lift them to his level.
“No war!” he yelled repeatedly, adding that May 15 also marked his birthday.
After attempting to convince the climber to come down, cops yanked him from the statute despite his effort to cling to the bronze. Placing him in handcuffs aboard the cherry picker, they made the short trip back to the ground. Katsnelson was whisked into the back of a police vehicle.
He was charged with reckless endangerment and obstructing governmental administration.
This is not the first time Katsnelson has been in trouble with the law. He became a local celebrity in 2009 after he was arrested for punching a cop in Times Square back in 2009 while dressed as Superman. He was known for his bizarre performance art in the early 2000’s but seems to have flown under the radar in the last decade.
