Artists Arrested After Aerial Bridge Stunt

Two Brooklyn performance artists were arrested last night after staging a dangerous stunt 300 feet above traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge. Aerialist Seanna Sharpe, aided by Savage Skinner, scaled a bridge tower and performed acrobatic flips and stunts for 15 minutes, suspended from the bridge with 90 feet of silk rope—and no harness or safety tether. Almost 100 people, some alerted by an email from Sharpe, watched from below.

NYPD officers waited for the artists to descend. The pair tried to flee, but another police vehicle as well as a helicopter thwarted the attempt. Skinner, 27, faces charges including trespassing and reckless endangerment; charges for Sharpe, 24, are expected to be similar. They were still in custody late last night, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sharpe knew she was likely to be arrested and brought a lawyer along; she says she simply wanted "to face my fear and to inspire others to face their fears." (More performance artist stories.)