Two CNN producers were released without bail on Wednesday after they were charged with allegedly trying to sneak into the World Trade Center site.
Connor Boals, 26, and Yon Pomrenze, 35, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where they faced misdemeanor charges of attempted criminal trespassing and trespassing.
They were not required to enter a plea at this point of their prosecution, before the judge let them go without having to post bail.
Boals and Pomrenze made four attempts to get onto Ground Zero before being arrested shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, prosecutors said.
The pair initially tried to get through Gate 1 at Vesey and Washington streets, according to a Manhattan DA criminal complaint, with Boals allegedly telling a Port Authority cop at the scene: “If a 16-year-old got in there, why can’t I get in there?”
Next, they headed east, with Boals twice climbing halfway up a fence, with Pomrenze recording the action, according to prosecutors.
They finally tried to push their way through a gate at Vesey and Church streets, where they were arrested.
“I asked the defendants what they were doing, and defendant Boals stated in substance to me, `I’m trying to get into the site. If that kid got in, I want to get in too,’ ” according to PA officer Aravinda Jayawardana.
Law enforcement sources said the men were trying to test security at the site.
“They were trying to prove a point. I guess they thought anybody could get in,” one source said.
Cops seized a miniature GoPro video camera, a full-size video camera and a tripod, sources said.
Boals was wearing a camera on his forehead when he first tried to get inside, according to prosecutors.
Last week, Justin Casquejo, 16, of Weehawken, NJ, was busted for entering the site and making it all the way to the top of the Freedom Tower. On Monday, three men, including a former ironworker at the site, were charged with parachuting from the building.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said “both City Hall and 1 Police Plaza are concerned about this situation.”
A CNN spokesperson said Boals and Pomrenze “were not asked to sneak onto the World Trade Center site.”