Protesters outside the Building for Women in Duluth say they were staring at a knife blade early Tuesday morning during an altercation.

Duluth police say a 25-year-old Superior woman is in custody after she allegedly pulled a knife on one of the demonstrators and held it to the woman's throat. While protesters have demonstrated outside the building many times before, the facility says Tuesday's incident is rare and isolated.

Just before 8:00, demonstrators say they confronted a woman as she was going into the Building For Women on 1st. Street.

"We asked the women 'please don't take the life of your unborn baby we care about what happens to them,'" said Leah Winandy, a demonstrator outside the building.

The demonstrators say that's when the woman brandished a knife at Winandy.

"She said 'don't do this,don't talk to me, don't come near me' and I just said 'fear god,' and she had the knife to my throat and I was a little nervous," Leah said.

Both the facility and police declined our request for an on-camera interview. But authorities say incidents like this are uncommon for the many protests held outside the Building for Women.

Besides pregnancy terminations, spokespeople say the facility also provides services such as: testing for sexually transmitted infections, regular female health check-ups, information about birth control and services to help victims of sexual assault.

Duluth Police say the facility hired off-duty escorting officers years ago, but don't do that these days.

"She was probably trying to threaten me and intimidate me...but for what reason I don't know," said Winandy.

If people have a safety concern about entering the facility from the street, the Building for Women says people can contact the building directly or call police.

Authorities say the woman is facing two counts of second-degree assault.