A man calling himself ‘Pro-Life Spider-Man’ has been arrested after scaling the outside of the Las Vegas Sphere and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Maison Des Champs, 24, has been charged with destruction of property and conspiracy to destroy private property after he was seen climbing the Sphere on video, causing $100,000 worth of damage.
He was arrested after Las Vegas police began receiving calls about a person climbing the 366-foot-tall (112-meter-tall) spherical structure near the Strip after 10 a.m.
Des Champs is a local climber who has scaled skyscrapers before in Las Vegas and beyond.
A Sphere spokesperson said: ‘We thank the local authorities for their support in this matter. The individuals involved are currently in LVMPD custody.
He posted a video on Instagram with a GoPro camera strapped to his head from the top of the Sphere and explained that he scaled the structure to raise money for a homeless pregnant woman on February 7.
She later said in a separate post that the money raised will help the woman “cancel her abortion appointment.”
But Sheriff Kevin McMahill, chief of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the incident a publicity stunt.
He referred to the ‘stunt’ at a press conference and said: ‘We know people are going to test us. We know that people are going to try things. As we sit here today, there is an individual – for a publicity stunt – climbing to the top of the Sphere.
‘Your lifeguards are everywhere, taking care of it. “We know these things are going to happen and we’re going to deal with them as they come up and make sure we have the safest Super Bowl we’ve ever had.”
He posted a video on Instagram with a GoPro camera strapped to his head from the top of the Sphere and explained that he scaled the structure to raise money for a homeless pregnant woman on February 7.
Following his arrest, a spokesperson for Sphere Entertainment said: “We thank local authorities for their support in this matter. The individuals involved are currently in LVMPD custody.
The city will host for the first time Super Bowl this Sunday, which is expected to attract more than 330,000 visitors.
Matthew German, vice president of security and threat management at Esfera, said Police: The structure should not be touched by people due to its fragile construction.
According to officials, there are 58 million lights in the Sphere and 1.2 million disks, each with 48 lights.
The lights are on a track made of aluminum and cannot support the weight of a person without damage.
Esfera officials said that due to the large number of lights, they cannot estimate the exact amount of damage at this time, but they expect it to exceed $100,000.
Des Champs has been booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
Following his arrest, a spokesperson for Sphere Entertainment said: “We thank local authorities for their support in this matter. The individuals involved are currently in LVMPD custody.
He was also arrested in Arizona last year for climbing the 483-foot Chase Tower, known as The tallest building in Phoenix to promote their anti-abortion cause, days before the Super Bowl.