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TWO BASE JUMPERS who skydived off the World Trade Centre “sullied the memories” of victims of the 9/11 attacks, a New York judge said, slapping them with hefty sentences of community service.
James Brady, 33, who was a steel worker at the site, and “ring leader” Andrew Rossig, 34, avoided jail sentences but were ordered to carry out 250 and 200 hours of community service respectively, and each was fined $2,000.
Their stunt in the early hours of September 30, 2013 has been watched by more than 3.5 million people on YouTube. T-shirts glorifying the jump are still sold on the internet, the court heard.
The new Trade Centre, also known as Freedom Tower, is the tallest building in the United States and is constructed on part of the site destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
“After 9/11 the world changed, everything changed,” said New York state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
Brady and Rossig made a “very, very poor decision” to execute a base jump off “an iconic building constructed on hallowed ground,” he said.
“In doing so these defendants tarnished the building before it even opened and sullied the memories of those who jumped on 9/11 not for sport but because they had to.”
The defendants expressed regret.
“We didn’t want this whole thing to get blown out of proportion,” said Rossig. “It’s never going to happen again.”
“We’re sorry and it won’t happen again,” said Brady.
The judge said their apologies were “hard to reconcile” with videos posted on YouTube and a follow-up interview in Maxim magazine, which the prosecution brandished in court.
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That’s International Commerce Center in Hong Kong….
They have since updated the image so wait for people to start asking what you are on about :)
What are you about?
Hate to break it to you lads but that’s not a picture of New York. Did the mountains not give it away?
Nice picture of Manhattan there and the rolling hills of the Bronx in the background.
Not entirely sure how that happened! Has been fixed now!
Should have made them wash all the windows.
It’s a bit like saying swimming in the ocean is wrong because it sullies the memories of the thousands who drowned in it.
They trespassed and did something dangerous and stupid without permission, so fine, they deserve the punishment they got, but there’s no need for the judge’s dramatics about the symbolism.
Sorry folks, that is not a photo of New York’s World Trade Center One. Wrong architecture, wrong geography. Try again :-)
We know we know we know. Jeez
Some security they have at freedom tower.
I guess security was defeated as one of them worked there, so knew the weaknesses but also, his being there may not have looked suspicious as the bags appear to be small enough
They done a base jump, I fail to see the problem.
The problem is that many innocent men and women were forced to jump from the Towers. Imagine their families watching that video, seeing what their loved ones saw as the plummeted to their death. It was a stunt in really poor taste.
fools !
Mericans over reacting again. I wonder would the consider someone jumping off a step in the lobby and laughing about it an insult or taking the name of the president in vain while standing on the roof. next poor sod will have his hands chopped off
Must have been Friday evening.
Rip in peace
And yet it is perfectly acceptable for Americans to drink Irish Car Bombs and Blakc & Tans
have your say