Protester breaches Trump Tower to deface presidential placard (2025)

An environmental protestor vandalized a presidential placard in New York City's Trump Tower in a bold act of rebellion against the administration.

Nathaniel Smith, 36, of Brooklyn, proudly sported a black t-shirt reading 'Join, or Die' as he tarnishedDonald Trump's plaque with neon green spray paint on Wednesday around noon, according to NYPD.

The protester, a member ofUK-founded global environmental group Extinction Rebellion, was seen calmly spraying 'USA' across the 45th president's placard before kneeling on the ground in front of his work as spectators watched in awe.

Extinction Rebellion told DailyMail.com the spray paint was 'removable chalk' and Smith's graffiti was 'a plea for the country to transcend the failing government institutions that brought the country to the current point of climate collapse.'

Other members of the self-proclaimed 'civil disobedience' organization were also inside the Midtown building as Smith defaced the property, taking photos and videos of him in action.

'I did this because I am an American. It is my duty to stand up for my country, and my Earth, when a government becomes destructive of our right to Life,' Smith said in a statement shared with DailyMail.com.

'Donald Trump and the regime of private interests he works for - who donate equally to each party - are destructive of your inalienable right to Life.'

Just as Secret Service agents approached the protestor, he pulled out a yellow banner reading '4°= Game Over' over Extinction Rebellion's logo.

The '4°' message refers to concerns about global temperatures rising, resulting in irreversible climate consequences.

According to the UN Climate Summit, a four-degree Celsius global temperature increase could lead to six to 14 meters of sea level rise over several hundred years.

These rising sea levels would 'inundate all the world’s coastal city locations,' the summit wrote in 2023.

After a few moments he was swarmed by police officers who handcuffed the brazen demonstrator and pulled him away from the vandalized presidential symbol.

'This is your country!' Smith shouted while being escorted out of Trump Tower as the officers instructed the intrigued crowd to clear out.

'This is our planet, this is our country...You cannot ruin it without comment, they are ruining the planet for profit.'

He was charged with making graffiti, possession graffiti instruments and criminal tampering in the third degree, the NYPD told DailyMail.com.Smith is still in custody as of Wednesday evening, according to the climate group.

Extinction Rebellion has become characterized by the shock-tactics its activists use to capture the attention of the public and the media.

In another jaw-dropping stunt, protestors spray painted 'f*ck DOGE!' and 'DOGE' being crossed out on the windows of Tesla's Manhattan showroom on Tuesday.

'F*ck DOGE! We do not consent to our government’s reckless behavior. The social contract is broken,' the group wrote on Instagram.

'We refuse to be bystanders like the Democrats, we refuse to wait for the climate and ecological emergency to proceed beyond the point of no return.'

Extinction Rebellion has made it clear their efforts are not specifically aimed at Trump, but at any political figure that is not tackling environmental issues or is contributing to them.

In his reflective statement shared with DailyMail.com about the Wednesday protest, Smith asserted that 'switching blue is not the solve' to the climate crisis.

'All American political parties are equally complicit in inaction which has brought us to this point,' he said.

'Kamala Harris’ climate platform was fracked gas, much deadlier than regular.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Trump Hotels for comment on Wednesday's incident.