French Tourist Accused Of Climbing Brooklyn Bridge Faces Judge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A French tourist accused of scaling the Brooklyn Bridge to take photos faced a judge in court in downtown Brooklyn on Monday.
Yonathan Souid, 23, of Esnandes, France, is charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor criminal trespassing.
"He shouldn't be going to jail for a year for just being a naive tourist. I expect this matter to be resolved," Souid's attorney, James Medows, said. "My client has the utmost respect for the United States. He did not mean to be a threat to anyone. He apologizes if he caused any type of inconvenience. However, he did not have the intent."
French Tourist Accused Of Climbing Brooklyn Bridge To Be Arraigned
Souid climbed a security fence then scaled a cable beam on the bridge around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, police said.
While signs on the bridge warn it's under NYPD surveillance, police only learned of the stunt after someone called 911, CBS2's Diane Macedo reported.
French Tourist Accused Of Climbing Brooklyn Bridge Faces Judge
Souid's friend Jeffrey Sternfeld told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez that he believes his intentions were innocent.
"He definitely wasn't trying to do anything bad. He really just, he wanted to take a picture. It was just a silly move," Sternfeld said.
The incident follows two other recent breaches at the 131-year-old landmark.
In July, two German artists swapped the American flags on the bridge towers for white flags, saying they wanted to celebrate the bridge's German engineer.
The mayor and NYPD promised to tighten security, but just a month later police arrested a Russian tourist for walking to the top of one of the bridge's towers.
Some people believe there should be more security measures.
"People shouldn't have that much access to the bridge. It's dangerous," Brooklyn resident Sylvia Jhony said.
"They've got to figure out ways to keep people from being able to climb up it," a man told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck.
Souid's attorney said that it's because of those two other incidents that his client is being prosecuted at all, but prosecutors said regardless of his intent, he put motorists and pedestrians in danger, Macedo reported.
"The Brooklyn Bridge must not to be trespassed upon, no matter who does it or for any reason," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement. "In this age of terrorism, it's very important that we protect the security of the bridge at all times and under all circumstances. This defendant blatantly compromised that security for his own selfish reasons and will now be prosecuted for his foolish and unlawful conduct."
Souid was able to make bail, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
The judge revoked his passport.
Souid is due back in court Dec. 9.
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