Man who dangled himself from 16th floor of Trump Tower in Chicago and threatened to CUT his rope unless he could speak to the president is taken into custody after more than 13 hours
A man who dangled himself off the 16th floor balcony of Trump Tower in Chicago and threatened to cut his rope unless he could speak to the president has been taken into custody after more than 13 hours.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed shortly before 7am local time that the situation had been 'resolved peacefully' by on-site negotiators and no injuries were sustained.
The man, who is in his 20s and identified himself as a Black Lives Matter protester, had been hanging off a 16th-floor balcony of the tower since around 5:30pm Sunday.
He had been requesting to speak directly with the president and to get his message to the media, CPD spokesman Tom Ahern said.
The man had threatened to kill himself during the stand-off with police, the department said. SWAT team negotiators spent hours on the deck trying to get the man down overnight.
No charges have yet been filed, police said Monday. The man, who has not been named, was escorted from the scene in an ambulance and is currently undergoing a psychological evaluation.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed shortly before 7am local time that the situation had been 'resolved peacefully' by on-site negotiators and no injuries were sustained (an officer is pictured hauling the man to safety)
No charges have yet been filed, police said Monday. The man, who has not been named, is currently undergoing a psychological evaluation
A video began surfacing online purportedly showing the man, who had an Eastern European accent, saying he didn't want to die but would cut the rope with a knife if he couldn't speak with the president.
Photos and videos emerged on social media showing the figure scaling the tower in Chicago's downtown as frightened onlookers peered down.
Police officers and firefighters were on the scene within minutes. Officers were seen on a terrace above the man, seemingly urging him to climb up, but he refused to move.
'CPD, SWAT, and CFD personnel responded to the call of an unknown male threatening suicide and dangling from a rope on the 16th-floor balcony of a residential building/hotel,' Chicago Police said to DailyMail.com in a statement.
Police said the man appeared to be using a climbing harness.
One video began surfacing online purportedly showing the man, who had an Eastern European accent, saying he didn't want to die but would cut the rope if he couldn't speak with the president.
He also appeared to be holding a knife as negotiators tried to talk him down.
'Hello everyone,' the believed suspect was heard saying in one clip, before laying out his demands. 'I am member of Black Lives Matter, and I want to talk with Mr Trump before the election.
'I don't want to die. If someone will try to pull this rope, I will jump.
'If Trump promises something, he should do before the election.
'I'm here in Chicago... one of the most liberal cities in the world and I really respect people who live here.
'We need to make a big decision. For that, I want to talk with media. And I will say what I want to say for media.
'Mr Trump, if you think I am crazy, I am not crazy. If you will not talk with me, I will cut the .'
On Sunday a man was seen dangling from a rope outside the 16th floor of Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. Police officers were seen on a terrace above the man, seemingly urging him to climb up, but he refused to move
The man was reportedly hanging from a rope off a balcony and refused to move when police told him to
In another video, the protester is heard saying that he's exercising his constitutional right to protest, as provided to him by the Bill of Rights.
'This is a peace protest,' the man said, adding that he's not 'breaking stores' or doing anything 'illegal.'
The man added that he just wanted his voice to be heard and voiced fears that society is currently facing a 'huge problem'.
Due to the incident police had blocked off traffic around Trump Tower, which overlooks the Chicago River.
Trump was not in Chicago at the time of the man's protest. The president attended a church service in Las Vegas Sunday morning and spoke at a rally in Carson City later that afternoon.
Chicago police negotiator Det. Hector Matias called the stand-off 'extremely challenging', telling reporters, 'It was something that we had to take our time and patience with.'
'There's different tactics in our toolbox that we utilize and I think today we probably utilized every single one of them.'
When police finally managed to talk the man into surrendering, he pulled himself up to the landing where an officer extended out a hand and grabbed the climber.
The helping hand brought the man on to the landing, before three more officers swooped in to detain him.
Chicago police Commander Patty Casey praised the attending officers for the care they took 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 from the side of the building.
Casey said a Russian interpreter was also called to the scene.
'Today, the Chicago Police Department and their partners literally saved this young man's life,' she said
#BREAKING Man dangling from rope on 16th floor of Trump Tower, threatening suicide. @Chicago_Police negotiating right now...going on more than an hour.
— Steven Graves (@StevenGravesTV) October 19, 2020
Crowds gathering around on Wabash. Street closed. I’m working to learn more. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/7DyYEEmBPl
#BREAKING Man dangling from rope on 16th floor of Trump Tower, threatening suicide. @Chicago_Police negotiating right now...going on more than an hour.
Crowds gathering around on Wabash. Street closed. I’m working to learn more. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/7DyYEEmBPl
Early Monday morning, CPD spokesman Tom Ahern tweeted that 'every effort is being made to bring a positive conclusion to this situation,' following hours of negotiations.
Ahern provided an update at 6:31am, tweeting that de-escalation efforts were continuing as the suspect remained suspended from the tower.
Just before 7:00am, Ahern provided another updated which read: 'UPDATE: Situation resolved peacefully by Negotiators. Suspect in custody. No injuries.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Chicago Police Department for more information.
One Twitter user wrote: 'There is a dude hanging from the 16th floor of Trump Tower right now from a rope threatening to cut it if he doesn't talk to Trump himself. Chicago is really upping the crazy levels tonight.'
Another person wrote: 'There is a man dangling from Trump Tower in Chicago, demanding to speak to @realDonaldTRump or he'll cut the rope.'
The incident comes one day after the United Steelworkers union projected the Biden Harris campaign logo on Trump Tower Saturday evening.
The union used their 'bat light' to shine the names of Trump's opponent’s Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his VP pick Kamala Harris over Trump's own name emblazoned on the skyscraper.
The $847million 98-story skyscraper that serves as a condo and hotel is 1,390 feet high and was completed in 2009.
If you or anyone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255
The incident comes one day after the United Steelworkers union projected the Biden Harris campaign logo on Trump Tower Saturday evening
The $847million 98-story skyscraper that serves as a condo and hotel is 1,390 feet high and was completed in 2009