The man who breached NBC security and confronted Craig Melvin on the Today show Thursday morning was supposed to be behind bars on felony charges — but soft-on-crime New York let him walk.
Andrew Truelove, 41, entered an unauthorized area at Rockefeller Center Plaza around 9 A.M. and approached Melvin in the vestibule near Studio 1A, allegedly using racial slurs and demanding to see Al Roker.
He was quickly detained by security.
“An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A. The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security. The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured.”
But court records obtained by TMZ reveal Truelove shouldn’t have been walking free in the first place.
The trespasser recently pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief after damaging multiple vehicles. He was sentenced in June to six months in jail and five years of probation.
Somehow, he was out on the streets anyway.
Truelove is a repeat offender with three pending criminal cases in New York — including charges of misdemeanor assault, reckless endangerment, criminal trespassing, and trespassing. He pleaded not guilty in all those cases.
The Los Angeles Times profiled Truelove in 2023 after he arrived homeless in Los Angeles following probation and prison time on the East Coast. The piece noted he has PTSD and bipolar disorder.
The outlet also mentioned one of Truelove’s previous crimes: stealing memorial signs erected for Sandy Hook victims. LA Times reported that Truelove believed the event was a hoax.
For his latest trespassing incident, Truelove was charged with hate crime-burglary, hate crime-menacing, hate crime-criminal trespass, and harassment at an arraignment Friday.
The judge set bail at $10,000.
Roker addressed the incident on social media, thanking those who reached out to check on Melvin.
“A really heartfelt thank you to all who reached out over the last 24 hours to check in on my brother, @craigmelvinnbc. We are both okay. It’s moments like these that serve to pull us together. You all, like Craig, said: ‘You come after one of us, you come after all of us.'”
NBC said it is reviewing security protocols and remains committed to providing a safe environment for employees and guests.
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
