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French tourist arrested for scaling Brooklyn Bridge

The man, identified as Yonathan Souid, faces charges of reckless endangerment and criminal trespassing for climbing up a beam of the famous bridge in New York.

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According to a police spokesman, the 23-year-old was arrested after jumping a fence and climbing up a beam on the famous bridge that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Souid, who is from Esnandes in south western France, climbed back down at the request of a patrol officer who saw him and was detained.

A spokesman from the Brooklyn prosecutor's office said that he was due to be formally charged today..

"The Brooklyn Bridge must not be trespassed upon, no matter who does it or for any reason," said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.

"In this age of terrorism, it's very important that we protect the security of the bridge at all times and under all circumstances," he added.

"This defendant blatantly compromised that security for his own selfish reasons and will now be prosecuted for his foolish and unlawful conduct."

This is the third similar incident at the Brooklyn Bridge in the last four months, in a city highly sensitive to security risks.

In late August, a Russian tourist, Yaroslav Kolchin, 24, was arrested and charged for climbing to the top of one of the towers supporting the mighty structure to take photos.

And in late July in the middle of the night, two German artists climbed to the top of the bridge to hoist two massive white flags in place of the US stars and stripes.
 

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