The New York man accused of breaching security at the Today show and shouting a racial slur at news anchor Craig Melvin has been arraigned on hate crime charges.
Andrew Truelove, 41, was charged with two felonies — one count of burglary in the third degree as a hate crime and one count of menacing in the third degree as a hate crime, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a criminal complaint obtained by NBC News on Friday, July 17.
Truelove is expected to enter a plea at a later hearing. The judge in the case set bail at $10,000.
On Thursday, the New York Police Department told Urban Hollywood 411 he could also face criminal trespass and harassment charges.
NBC confirmed the suspect allegedly entered an “unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A” at New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
According to published reports, he initially asked for Al Roker after using a street-level entrance to get past security. When he couldn’t find Roker, the suspect allegedly “lunged” at Melvin and called the Today co-anchor the “N-word.”
The criminal complaint said a temporary protection order has been put in place for Melvin and Roker.
Truelove reportedly has a lengthy criminal history. He recently pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and was sentenced last month to six months in jail. He also has three other cases pending.
NBC has said it takes “the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously.”
Meanwhile, Page Six was the first outlet to report the network fired a security guard for failing to stop the intruder from entering the property, following an internal review.
Sources told the outlet surveillance footage showed one guard stepping away while another allegedly failed to notice the intruder slipping into the building.
The suspect was quickly detained by Today security employees and arrested by NYPD officers.
“An officer assigned to 30 Rockefeller Center within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct was alerted to a disorderly individual inside the building,” the NYPD said in a statement. “The responding officer entered into the building and placed the individual in custody without incident.”
Craig Melvin addressed the incident on Friday morning’s broadcast.
“You may have heard that, unfortunately, an intruder made his way into an unauthorized area here at Studio 1A,” he said. “Thankfully, he was apprehended quickly, he was placed under arrest, we are cooperating fully with the NYPD as they investigate the matter, and we are just very happy that everyone is safe.”
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