The content creator who scaled the Las Vegas Sphere earlier this week caused more than $100,000 in damage to the 366-foot-tall venue — but taunted cops that he wouldn’t be convicted for the crime, police said.
“Pro-life Spiderman” Maison Des Champs, 24, allegedly stomped on countless lights as he climbed the illuminated dome as part of a stunt to raise money so that a homeless woman could “cancel her abortion appointment.”
The native Las Vegan filmed the daring feat while pleading for followers to donate to his cause.
“She is homeless and pregnant and needs help,” he said in the video.
The Sphere, which is completely wrapped with 58 million lights to form a massive LED screen, is too delicate to support a human’s weight, according to an arrest report obtained by KTNV.
Matthew German, the Sphere’s vice president of security and threat management, told police that the exterior is so fragile that officials do repair work from the inside of the venue to avoid touching the Exosphere.
While venue officials are unsure how many lights were damaged by Des Champs climb, they anticipate the stunt will have cost more than $100,000.
Maison Des Champs filmed himself climbing the Las Vegas Sphere in a stunt to raise money for a homeless pregnant woman. X/@LVMPD
Des Champs told cops he had never been convicted of his previous climbs and “his attorneys will get him off this incident as well,” according to the arrest report. News3LV
They also expressed concern in the report that intellectual property from the venue may have been leaked to the public during the live-streamed climb.
Countless onlookers spotted or tuned into Des Champs scaling the Sphere Tuesday morning, but an engineer stationed inside the venue was the first to call attention to police, the report stated.
Des Champs allegedly told the worker that he planned to climb back down the Sphere after reaching the top, but law enforcement refused, stating they would perform a helicopter rescue if he didn’t exit through the building.
Read more about ‘Pro-Life Spider-Man’ Maison Des Champs’ stunts
Des Champs makes his way up the Accenture Tower in Chicago. ABC
The engineer ultimately removed one of the light tracks, called carriers, to allow Des Champs to climb through and safely enter the Sphere, police said.
Des Champs is facing charges, including destroying property greater than $5,000 and conspiracy to destroy private property.
The self-described “pro-life Spiderman” is known for climbing skyscrapers to raise money for anti-abortion causes — and allegedly told police he had never been convicted for his stunts and that “his attorneys will get him off this incident as well.”
Des Champs described himself as a “pro-life Spiderman.” Getty Images
Des Champs climbed the Sphere to raise funds for a 37-year-old homeless woman named Isabel, who already has twins, so she wouldn’t have to go through with a scheduled abortion.
It only took 20 minutes for him to “free solo” the venue — which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Three others were arrested in connection with the stunt, all of whom were released Thursday and ordered to stay out of the Strip corridor and lose contact with Des Champs as the case continues.
They will all reappear in court Feb. 12, one day after Isabel’s scheduled abortion.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/news/maison-des-champs-sphere-climb-caused-100k-in-damage-cops/