‘Today’ Show Intruder Arrested After Allegedly Lunging at Anchor

A security breach at the Today show in New York City resulted in an arrest Thursday morning after a man reportedly stormed the building and lunged at co-host Craig Melvin.

TMZ reports that around 9 a.m. ET, a man was asking for co-host Al Roker after somehow getting past security from the plaza. The outlet reports that after he couldn’t find Roker, he turned his attention to confront Melvin in a restricted area, allegedly lunging at him and yelling a racial slur.

Staff and security rushed in to detain and arrest the intruder. The man, who was reportedly white and unarmed, entered a stairwell and made his way backstage near the dressing room, TMZ reports.

A photo taken after the incident shows Melvin and Roker surrounded by several people, including co-host Dylan Dreyer. Click here to see the photo from TMZ.

The incident did not play out on the live broadcast and has resulted in no injuries. Both Melvin and Roker were on the air about 15 minutes after the incident, neither journalist hinting at the behind-the-scenes drama.

TMZ reports the show’s staff is “demanding answers” about how the man got inside the building undetected.

Melvin has been on the Today show since 2018, replacing Hoda Kotb as Savannah Guthrie’s co-host on the show’s first two hours in January 2025 following Kotb’s retirement. Roker joined the Today show in January 1996, taking over as the primary weather anchor from the legendary Willard Scott.

Elsewhere during Thursday’s broadcast, Guthrie announced that she will be away from the Today show for the next few weeks to shoot the upcoming Wordle game show that Jimmy Fallon is producing.

She took a hiatus in February following the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who remains missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home.