10 Videos of Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau: Daredevil Duo Break Silence After Felony Arraignment

Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, the Russian daredevil duo made famous by Netflix's Skywalkers: A Love Story, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday 2 July after prosecutors charged them with felony reckless endangerment and burglary over their dramatic proposal atop the Empire State Building's antenna in New York City a day earlier.

For context, the pair are part of a tight, controversial world of so‑called 'roof toppers,' known for scaling skyscrapers and industrial structures without harnesses and then posting the vertigo‑inducing footage online. Their latest stunt, on Monday 1 July, took them beyond the iconic tower's public observation deck and up to the broadcast antenna 1,454 feet above Manhattan, where they unfurled a peace banner, posed for photos and, crucially for prosecutors, allegedly broke through restricted security to get there.

Daredevil Duo Turn Empire State Climb Into Marriage Proposal

According to a criminal complaint, investigators say Ivan Beerkus, 32, and Angela Nikolau, 33, accessed a locked door leading to the Empire State Building's 104th floor, a restricted level that provides entry to the antenna. Officers later reported finding a broken lock on that security door, which sits two floors above the building's highest public level, the 102nd‑floor observation deck.

From there, prosecutors allege, the couple climbed the antenna itself and staged what was, visually at least, a carefully choreographed moment. The banner they displayed read: 'When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,' a slogan that sat somewhere between anti‑war plea and Instagram caption. After showing the banner, the pair reportedly pulled it back in, descended to a slightly lower ledge, and Beerkus proposed.

Nikolau subsequently posted images from the climb on social media, including close‑ups of her engagement ring held out above the New York skyline. The pictures, framed thousands of feet in the air, were obviously engineered to go viral. They also doubled as potential evidence.

The New York Police Department's Emergency Services Unit did not rush straight in. It was reported that officers waited around 30 minutes for the antenna to be powered down before starting their own climb, a delay that underscores how much of this stuff is less glamorous in real life. Police intercepted the couple as they made their way back down and took them into custody.

The pair spent Monday night in a cell before being arraigned in Manhattan criminal court the following day. Along with felony reckless endangerment and burglary, they face additional charges that have not been publicly detailed in full.

In court filings, prosecutors say Beerkus told officers he undertook the climb because he wanted to 'do something special' for the engagement. On its own, that sounds almost mundane, which is part of the problem. When 'special' now means scaling live antennas in one of the most heavily policed cities on earth, law enforcement is always going to get involved.

'We Believe In Love': Ivan Beerkus And Angela Nikolau Break Their Silence

The couple kept a low profile inside court, speaking briefly as they left the building. Beerkus told reporters: 'We believe in love. It was a short line, clearly aimed at recasting the narrative from crime to romance.

Their lawyer, Jason Krinsky, pushed that framing harder outside court. 'What a way to propose, something you can only dream of,' he said, defending the stunt as a grand gesture rather than a reckless crime. 'So you've got to, you know, give him some credit for that.' The comment played straight into the daredevil couple's existing mythology, but it also irritated some observers online who pointed out that NYPD officers had to risk their own safety climbing after them.

The Empire State Building's owners took a more measured tone. In a statement, an official spokesperson described the incident as 'unauthorised' but said it had been resolved 'with the constructive and helpful coordination of the NYPD.' The spokesperson added that 'there was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.'

That last point is doing a lot of work. From the building's perspective, reassuring tourists matters as much as dealing with the security breach itself. The same statement went on to stress that the landmark 'does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals,' a gently pointed reminder that you can book a standard, non‑felony engagement experience on the deck like everyone else.

Beerkus and Nikolau, who are Russian nationals, are hardly unknown quantities. As previously reported, they have built a following by scaling skyscrapers and industrial structures around the world without safety gear, posting the footage to social channels that celebrate this kind of wild, vertigo‑baiting stuff. Netflix stepped into that world with Skywalkers: A Love Story, its 2024 documentary charting their relationship and their climbs.

The Empire State stunt felt like a sequel, only this time with an arraignment scene. It also raises the usual questions about where platforms, streaming services and sponsors fit into the feedback loop, even if those questions are awkward and not easily answered in court documents.

What happens next is now largely up to the Manhattan District Attorney's office and the judge overseeing the case. Felony reckless endangerment and burglary are serious charges on paper, although first‑time non‑violent offenders often see lesser outcomes. The fact that no one was injured, and that the building insists there was 'no danger' to the public, may weigh in their favour. The police having to shut down an antenna and send officers up after them may not.

IBTimes UK cannot independently verify every detail of the couple's conversations with police, so all such statements should be taken with a grain of salt. What is clear is that a pair of online performers who made their names treating skyscrapers as personal playgrounds have now collided with an institution that does not play around at all, the New York criminal courts.

Whether this case turns into a cautionary tale for other roof‑toppers or just another extreme chapter in the duo's highlight reel is something only the next hearing will answer.