'Pro-Life Spiderman' arrested after scaling Las Vegas Sphere during Super Bowl week
An activist known as the "Pro-Life Spiderman" is facing a felony charge following his arrest after he climbed the Sphere in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week, with officials estimating that the stunt may have caused over $100,000 in damage.
In a Thursday social media post showing footage of his Wednesday climb, Maison Des Champs revealed that he was climbing the 366-foot Sphere at the Venetian Resort east of the Las Vegas Strip to help raise funds for a homeless mother named Isabel. At the time, the pro-life activist said that the fundraiser for the mom had raised $21,000, but he urged people to keep donating.
Des Champs represents Let Them Live, a nonprofit organization that addresses the financial needs of pregnant women who are considering abortion. After verifying that a woman needs help, the organization hosts an online fundraiser for her.
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"The reason I do this is the unborn and their mothers — the opportunity to put the spotlight back on innocent children vulnerable to be destroyed is worth far more than any jail time," Des Champs wrote in the post.
As KTNV reported Friday, police met Des Champs at the top of the Sphere. The pro-life activist is facing multiple charges, including conspiracy to destroy private property and destroying property greater than $5,000, a felony.
According to an arrest report cited by the outlet, Des Champs told police he had been arrested for climbing before but had never been convicted and that "his attorneys will get him off this incident as well."
Des Champs has climbed multiple buildings, including the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City, the Renaissance Center in Detroit and the New York Times building in New York City.
According to the arrest report, a Sphere engineer inside the building saw the pro-life activist climbing the Exosphere and continued tracking him throughout his climb. Des Champs told the engineer that he planned to climb back down, and the engineer alerted his supervisors. The engineer later removed light tracks known as carriers to bring Des Champs inside the Sphere, according to the report.
The arrest report stated that allowing the activist to climb back down the building presented a "security concern," and police feared that they would have to perform a helicopter rescue. In a statement to police, Matthew German, the Sphere vice president of security and threat management, also emphasized that the building exterior is not meant for someone to touch or climb.
"According to Sphere, there are 58 million lights on the Sphere and 1.2 million pucks, which each hold 48 lights on it. The lights are on a track called carriers, which are made of aluminum and are not rated to hold a person's body weight," KTNV reported. "Since the parts are so delicate, the report states Sphere officials do repair work from inside the venue and not from the Exosphere."
Officials estimate that the damage is more than $100,000, according to the outlet, and because the climb was live-streamed, the venue worries some of its intellectual property may have leaked to the public.
In an updated story, KTNV reported that police arrested three other individuals connected to Des Champs' climb.
Lori Hurley, Aaron Hurley and David Velasquez appeared in court last Thursday, with Judge Rebecca Saxe ruling that all three could be released on their own recognizance. However, she ordered the group to stay out of the Strip corridor and cease contact with Des Champs while the case is pending.
On Thursday, a video posted on Des Champs' social media page showed police arresting Hurley and his wife. Prosecutors argued that Lori Hurley filming the climb "perpetuated the act," according to KTNV, and they argued that Hurley may engage in the same behavior as Des Champs.
While Des Champs did not appear in court, the activist did post bail.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
