The content creator who climbed the Sphere at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas earlier this week caused more than US$100,000 (C$135,000) in damage to the structure; he taunted the officers, telling them he would not be convicted of the crime, according to police.
• Read also: Fundraising: he climbs the Las Vegas Sphere to help a pregnant homeless woman
“Pro-life Spiderman” Maison Des Champs, 24, allegedly trampled on countless lights as he scaled the illuminated dome as part of an effort to raise funds to allow a homeless woman to “cancel her appointment for an abortion.
The Las Vegas native filmed his daring feat while asking his subscribers to donate to his cause, several media report.
Photo taken from Instagram | prolife.spiderman and thesurvivors.us
The self-described “pro-life Spiderman” is known for scaling skyscrapers to raise money for anti-abortion causes. He reportedly told police that he was never convicted for his stunts and that “his lawyers would get him out of this incident as well.”
Des Champs climbed the sphere to raise money for Isabel, a 37-year-old homeless woman who already has twins, so she doesn’t have to have an abortion.
“She is homeless, pregnant and needs help,” he says in the video.
It took him 20 minutes to “free solo” climb the sphere, higher than the Statue of Liberty.
The sphere, which is entirely enveloped in 58 million lights to form a massive LED display, is too delicate to support a human’s weight, according to an arrest report obtained by KTNV.
Although site officials don’t know how many lights were damaged by Des Champs’ climbing, they estimate the stunt cost more than $135,000.
Countless spectators saw or heard Des Champs climbing the sphere Tuesday morning; However, it was an engineer who was inside the building who was the first to attract the attention of the police, according to the report.
Photo taken from X | LVMPD
Des Champs allegedly told the employee that he intended to come down from the sphere after reaching the top, but law enforcement refused, stating that they would conduct a helicopter rescue if he did not. did not exit through the building.
The engineer eventually removed one of the light paths, called carriers, to allow Des Champs to climb up and safely enter the sphere, police said.
Des Champs is charged with destruction of property valued at more than $5,000 and conspiracy to destroy private property.