On February 7, 2024, just a few days before Super Bowl LVIII, a man was arrested for climbing the Sphere on the Las Vegas Strip. Maison Des Champs, a 24-year-old pro-life activist who calls himself “Pro-Life Spiderman,” climbed the Sphere to protest abortion. Des Champs hoped climbing up the spherical structure would raise money for a pregnant woman. The woman, identified as Isabel, had a scheduled abortion. Des Champs was hoping to cancel that abortion by giving her all the money made from views of the live stream during his climb.
Jada Taylor, a senior, said, “I think that guy is crazy, and I don’t know how he thought climbing the Sphere was going to help.”
Des Champs’ climb was gaining the attention that he had wished for in order to help Isabel. However, he had to stop his livestream once the police arrived.
A Sphere engineer informed the police about the climber shortly after 10 a.m. The engineer saw someone climbing the structure through the inside and called the officials while keeping track of the climber.
After the call, the police made a statement that said, “We are responding to reports of an individual scaling a building near the 200 block of Sands Avenue. Please avoid the area due to emergency vehicles responding.”
Upon the descent of Des Champs through the roof of the Sphere, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was waiting to arrest him on the ground. It was recorded that Des Champs was charged with destruction of property greater than $5,000 and conspiracy to destroy private property, as it was recorded that he caused an estimated $100k worth of damages to the outside of the building. Authorities also arrested three others who were helping Des Champs.
Due to that, Senior Aliandra Rizo, stated, “I think it’s crazy, and with the amount of money he caused in damage, I don’t know if that was worth it.”
After his arrest, a Sphere Entertainment spokesperson said, “We are grateful to the local authorities for their support in this matter.”
This wasn’t Des Champs’ first time climbing a Las Vegas building for a protest. In August 2021, Des Champs was found climbing the Aria Casino to protest the COVID-19 mask mandate, for which he was also arrested. He has also climbed buildings in other cities like Phoenix and Chicago. Not a moment was spent in jail, even after Des Champs got arrested for climbing all those buildings, as his attorney’s were able to get him out.
“I find it quite crazy that the guy who climbed the Sphere has said he climbed many other buildings and hasn’t ever been convicted,” Naomi Cuff, a senior at Shadow Ridge High School, stated. “I am wondering what will happen this time as he is said to have done a lot of damage to the sphere.”
