Pair arrested, accused of scaling LSU clock tower after dark

BATON ROUGE - Two people were booked into jail after police found them causing a commotion atop LSU's historic Memorial Tower late Wednesday night.

According to LSU police, officers were called to the clock tower near the school's parade ground shortly after midnight. Arrest records say police spotted Blake Bramley and Rachel Hewitt, both 19 years old, after they discharged a fire extinguisher near the top of the tower.

After being taken into custody, both admitted to sneaking through a gap in the fence and climbing the scaffolding wrapping around the tower, which has been undergoing renovations for months. The two also confessed to tossing a bottle from atop the tower so that it would shatter on the ground below.

Both were booked into the parish jail Thursday. Hewitt is charged with unauthorized entry of a business. Bramley also faces an unauthorized entry charge, along with charges of fire prevention interference and criminal mischief.

Restoration of the tower has been slowed in recent months due to the discovery of asbestos inside the structure. LSU said the material does not pose an immediate threat to students or faculty, and exterior repairs have been going as planned. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2020.