Chivalry is not dead, but it might get you arrested. Just ask this man, who calls himself “The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man.” He scaled the exterior of the Sphere venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday, February 7.
He expected to get away with it since he was doing it for a good cause, i.e., raising funds for a pregnant woman. Unfortunately, despite his best wishes, he ended up in the clutches of law enforcement.
People started calling the cops about someone climbing the 366-foot-tall spherical structure near the Strip after 10 a.m. The police department confirmed in an email about an hour later that 24-year-old Maison Des Champs was in custody.
His arrest came a few days before Las Vegas hosted its first-ever Super Bowl. Experts predicted the event would attract more than 330,000 visitors. Des Champs is a local rock climber who has scaled skyscrapers before in Las Vegas and beyond.
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He posted a short cellphone video Wednesday morning on his Instagram account. The video captured Des Champs with a GoPro camera strapped to his head. “Hey guys, I’m here on top of the Sphere,” he can be heard saying in the video, wind whipping in the background as he explains the rationale behind his decision.
According to him, his latest stunt was to create awareness of his anti-abortion cause while helping raise funds for a pregnant woman who is currently homeless.
He said later in a separate post that the money raised would go a long way in helping the woman “cancel her abortion appointment.” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill, head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, has classified the incident as a publicity stunt.
Des Champs is facing charges of one count of felony destruction of personal property and conspiracy to destroy property, a gross misdemeanor. Court records on Wednesday evening did not list a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for the Sphere thanked the authorities “for their support in this matter.” Meanwhile, records have revealed that it is not Des Champs’ first brush with the law.
Las Vegas police first arrested Des Champs in August 2021 after scaling the Aria on the Strip. At the time, he said he was protesting mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to court records, his charges included misdemeanor disorderly conduct and trespassing, but prosecutors later dismissed the case.
Des Champs addresses himself as “The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man” on his social media accounts. Days before last year’s Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, he faced detention again after scaling Phoenix’s tallest building to promote his anti-abortion cause. Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller called the stunt “very, very dumb.”
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“This is so dangerous,” Keller fumed at the time. “You put not only yourself in danger, you put firefighters in danger. You put anyone else walking below or anybody around this incident in danger.” Des Champs may have had good intentions, but as far as Keller is concerned, the world is better off without them.
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