Source: Politics<\/p>\n
A suspect is in police custody and has been charged with arson after allegedly setting fire to the 50-foot-tall \u201cAll-American Christmas Tree\u201d outside Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the New York City Police Department confirmed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Craig Tamanaha, a 49-year-old man who is homeless, was observed by Fox security around 12:14 a.m. early Wednesday scaling the tree at \u201cFox Square,\u201d located on the Avenue of the Americas at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 48th Street, according to an NYPD spokesperson.<\/p>\n
The 44-story office tower there houses the Rupert Murdoch-founded News Corp. and some of the media conglomerate\u2019s high-profile assets, including the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Fox security saw Tamanaha running from the scene and apprehended him without incident, the spokesperson said, and the fire was extinguished by the New York City Fire Department. The cause of the blaze will be determined by New York City fire marshals.<\/p>\n
Tamanaha, who is in NYPD custody at Midtown Precinct North, has been charged with arson, criminal mischief, criminal nuisance, criminal tampering, criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
In an update on the incident on Wednesday morning, \u201cFox & Friends\u201d co-host Brian Kilmeade said the suspect \u201cwent into the tree\u201d with what appeared to be \u201csome paper\u201d and \u201clit the whole thing on fire in a matter of seconds.\u201d <\/p>\n
A Fox security officer then \u201ctackled [the suspect] to the ground,\u201d Kilmeade said, before a broader law enforcement presence \u2014 including police, firefighters and arson investigators \u2014 arrived on the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cops came from everywhere. Our security guys are fantastic. They were able to jump right on him. A lot of retired detectives,\u201d Kilmeade said. The incident, he added, \u201cis beyond tragic and angers everybody. And that smoke, by the way, filled up our entire lobby.\u201d <\/p>\n
Co-host Steve Doocy said that, according to eyewitness accounts, the suspect climbed \u201cabout halfway up [the tree], because there is a metal superstructure underneath it,\u201d carrying \u201ca bunch of newspapers under his arm.\u201d The suspect then lit the newspapers on fire, and \u201cwent down and watched it burn,\u201d Doocy said.<\/p>\n
Doocy noted that the co-hosts had not yet seen the police report on the incident, but he assessed: \u201cIt\u2019s beginning to look a lot like arson.\u201d<\/p>\n
The arrest comes after Fox News host Shannon Bream carried live footage in the network\u2019s midnight hour of law enforcement working to secure the scene on the smoke-filled plaza. \u201cOur thanks to the crews, who look like they\u2019ve just about got that thing under control,\u201d she said shortly before 12:30 a.m. <\/p>\n
Hosts from Fox News and Fox Nation, the network\u2019s subscription video streaming service, presided over the tree\u2019s third annual lighting on Sunday as part of an hour-long holiday special.<\/p>\n
The \u201cred, white and blue themed\u201d tree is decorated with \u201cwith 10,000 glass ornaments [and] 100,000 lights,\u201d according to Fox News, and it took \u201cover 21 hours to assemble.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a company-wide internal memo addressing the tree fire, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott referred to the incident as \u201ca malicious arson attack\u201d and said \u201csmoke permeated the building\u201d as a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no injuries and thankfully all employees working inside the building remained safe throughout the duration of the fire,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday morning, the \u201cFox & Friends\u201d co-hosts expressed similar outrage over the fire and vowed that a new tree would soon be installed on the \u201cFox Square\u201d plaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is vandalism,\u201d said co-host Ainsley Earhardt. \u201cYou know, Fox had to pay for this tree. Fox had to put all the ornaments on it. Fox gives so much joy to all of you when you come to New York and you see it \u2014 or when you see it on TV, or you walk into the building, or you\u2019re walking around the building and you hear the music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone did this to spoil our Christmas,\u201d Earhardt said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not going to happen. This scrooge is not going to get away with it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kilmeade then sought to compare the network\u2019s tree to the iconic, 79-foot-tall Christmas tree at nearby Rockefeller Center, where NBC is headquartered. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get it,\u201d Kilmeade said. \u201cNBC\u2019s been around forever. And every year, the [NBC] Christmas tree has been around, since TV was black and white. I understand that. But over the last few years, this [Fox News tree] has become a huge tourist attraction.\u201d <\/p>\n
Referring to the fire at \u201cFox Square,\u201d Kilmeade said: \u201cThis is part of a bigger problem. It\u2019s the crime surge in this country.\u201d <\/p>\n
Doocy, for his part, argued that the tree outside Fox News headquarters \u201cis a symbol to so many people in so many different ways.\u201d Therefore, he argued, \u201cit is symbolic that we rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, that was a one-of-a-kind tree,\u201d Doocy said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly what tree is going to be out there. But there\u2019s going to be another tree pretty quick. \u2026 We will have a Christmas tree in front of this building as soon as we possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry. Don\u2019t worry,\u201d Earhardt added, reassuring viewers. \u201cDo not be deterred. We will not be. We\u2019re going to rebuild it. We\u2019re going to rebuild it, and we\u2019re going to build it back better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott echoed that sentiment in her internal memo, saying: \u201cWe will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us. We are in the process of rebuilding and installing a new tree as a message that there can be peace, light and joy even during a dark moment like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently planning on a lighting ceremony for the new tree and will send those details once we have them,\u201d Scott added.<\/p>\n