Man arrested after confronting "Today" anchor Craig Melvin has decades-long criminal record
Andrew Truelove, 41, was detained in New York after approaching "Today" co-host Craig Melvin with a racial slur. Court records show he has a criminal history spanning more than 20 years, including kidnapping and trespassing convictions.
New York police arrested Andrew Truelove, 41, on Tuesday after he entered a restricted vestibule near NBC's Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center and confronted "Today" co-anchor Craig Melvin with a racial slur. Security detained Truelove without incident and he was taken into custody, where he is being held on $10,000 bail.
Court documents reveal that Truelove has a criminal record extending back at least two decades. In 2007 he was convicted of attempting to abduct an eight-year-old in Norfolk, Virginia, receiving a ten-year sentence with six years suspended and a decade of probation. Subsequent Virginia records list charges for trespassing, property destruction, making bomb threats, multiple probation violations and a 2023 conviction for property damage that resulted in a 90-day jail term. He also faced a 2014 arrest for stealing signs from Sandy Hook memorials.
In New York, Truelove faces hate-crime charges, including burglary and menacing, related to the incident with Melvin. Additional pending cases in the city involve an alleged assault in the 5th Precinct, trespassing and reckless endangerment on the transit system, and a 12-count criminal mischief indictment from the previous year.
A spokesperson for the "Today" program said an unauthorized individual entered the vestibule, approached the anchor, and was promptly detained by security and law enforcement. The network said it is cooperating with investigators and reviewing its security protocols.
Truelove is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.