NBC has stepped up security at the “Today” studio after co-host Craig Melvin was accosted in a vestibule and months after the unsolved abduction of fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother from her home in Tucson, Arizona, according to a new report.
“It was much-needed and took longer than people would have liked, but it does feel a lot better now,” an unnamed insider told Page Six.
Although more burdensome, “Today” staffers don’t mind the added hassle, another unnamed source told the outlet.
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Specifics about the increased security measures were not immediately made public.
“We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios,” an NBC spokesperson said in July after police arrested an intruder who gained access to a secure area.
Plans were first revealed about later that month in an internal memo obtained by Variety. NBC sources later confirmed its authenticity.
One change outlined in the memo was that guests can now be accompanied by only two people â whether they be stylists, spokespersons, social media aides or other “support personnel.”
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Nancy Guthrie, Savannah’s 84-year-old mother, was abducted from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills on Feb. 1. Her whereabouts remain unknown, no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made.
While Guthrie and her colleagues were still reeling from the kidnapping, a homeless man identified as 41-year-old Andrew Truelove snuck onto the set, allegedly hunting for Al Roker.
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He found Melvin instead in a vestibule inside a secure area of the studio and allegedly accosted him with a racial slur.
A review of footage from the “Today” show that morning reveals a man resembling Truelove and wearing the same clothing was pictured in the background repeatedly in the 8 a.m. hour.
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Truelove has a criminal record going back decades and in 2007 was convicted o
