Man Charged After Scaling Broadcast Tower in Duluth
Duluth Police arrested a man who climbed the WDIO-TV broadcast tower on Observation Road, allegedly disrupting essential communication lines.
The incident occurred Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, around 4:47 p.m., when officers responded to the initial reports of a climber on the tower.
When they arrived, they identified the person as Jed Grove Lovejoy, 19, of Superior, Wisc. Despite police commands to come down, Lovejoy continued his ascent, stating that he planned to climb higher. WDIO-TV halted tower transmissions to ensure the safety of Lovejoy, which temporarily disabled critical communications for the Canadian National Railroad and the emergency broadcast system.
Lovejoy eventually reached the top of the tower before beginning his descent, the court documents said. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office deployed a drone to communicate with him during the incident and Lovejoy was eventually taken into custody when he reached the ground. He now faces a gross misdemeanor charge of trespassing on a critical public service facility, carrying a potential sentence of up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine.
Lovejoy was released from custody with conditions before his next court appearance.
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