[UPDATE BELOW] ABC 7 has live helicopter footage of the Tappan Zee Bridge, where a protester is dangling with a large banner. It's not exactly sure what the protester is protesting; the sign says something about ROCKLAND EXECUTIVE LEGISLATURE COVER UP RETALIATION. There's more text beneath that, but we can't quite make it out (possibly something about the NSA'S POISONING OF TINFOIL HATS WITH MKULTRA CHEMICALS). The New City Patch reports that the person is sitting on a rope ladder tied off to a van that is stopped on the center of the bridge, and one lane of traffic has been closed.
According to NBC New York, the protester is wearing an American flag bandanna, and started out wearing a black long-sleeved shirt but then stripped down to a white tanktop. He is reportedly "sipping from a thermos as he sits." A spokesman for the Rockland County executive, C. Scott Vanderhoef, tells NBC "we don't know who he is... we hope he comes down and tells the county executive or the legislature what is of concern to him." (DEFINITELY SOUNDS LIKE A TRAP!)
Update 1 p.m.: The New City Patch continues to "win the morning" by reporting that the man hanging off the bridge is one Michael Davitt, a Rockland County resident who says he was wrongfully fired from his job working for the Department of Mental Health. Rockland County Sheriff James Kralik tells the Patch that Davitt has repeatedly spoken out at legislative sessions, and his comments to the Legislature were allegedly "somewhat threatening" and "related to the loss of his job at the county's health complex in Pomona."
Update 1:57 p.m.: After taking his pants off, Davitt either jumped or fell into the river. He started to swim away, but emergency workers threw him a life preserver, and he took it. NBC New York's live helicopter footage shows that he's now on the boat.
