A man clung to a rope off Trump Tower in Chicago for more than 13 hours, demanding an audience with the president, before he was safely taken into custody, authorities said Monday.
The man, who appeared to be in his 20s, was first spotted at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, dangling from a 16th-floor landing of Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, police said.
The "situation resolved peacefully by" negotiators and the "suspect in custody" with no injuries, Chicago police spokesman Tom Ahern tweeted. The 98-floor building has a prominent spot in the Windy City skyline at 401 N. Wabash Ave.
The man had a knife and threatened to cut the line if police tried to pull him up, said Chicago police negotiator Det. Hector Matias.
"It was extremely challenging. It was something that we had to take our time and patience with," Matias told reporters.
"There's different tactics in our toolbox that we utilize and I think today we probably utilized every singe one of them."
When police finally managed to talk the man into surrendering, he pulled himself up to the landing where one officer held out a hand and grabbed the climber.
That helping hand brought the man on to the landing, before three more officers swooped in to take him into custody.
Chicago police Cmdr. Patty Casey praised officers for their care of the man.
"They were patient and kind and spent hours dealing with this distraught man who was in apparent crisis, saying that he had many social issue that he wanted to discuss with reporters," Casey said.
"What could have been a tragedy ended up as a situation that was resolved without incident."
The police didn't immediately reveal what, if any, concessions they made to talk the man down. A Russian interpreter was also called to the scene, according to Casey.
"Today, the Chicago Police Department and their partners literally saved this young man's life," she said.
