A man was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion that he set on fire a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree outside the Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the New York Police Department said.
Fox News security personnel called police shortly after midnight when they saw a man climbing the tree at Sixth Avenue and 48th Street, police said.
When officers arrived on the scene they saw a man, identified as Craig Tamanaha, 49, running from the tree and arrested him. He faces charges including arson, trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Firefighters extinguished the fire. No one was injured in the incident.
The red, white and blue-themed tree was decorated with 10,000 glass ornaments and 100,000 lights. It took workers 21 hours to assemble, the network said.
The tree had been ceremonially lit during a network Christmas special Sunday.
"We will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us," Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott told network staffers in a memo. Scott said a new tree would be installed "as a message that there can be peace, light and joy even during a dark moment like this."
A lighting ceremony will be held for the new tree, Scott said.
This report is compiled from dispatches by Reuters and The Associated Press.