The latest attraction (?) to hit the Sphere in Las Vegas is an anti-abortion activist, who was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 7, after climbing to the top of the venue.
Las Vegas police confirmed the climber had been arrested around 11:30 a.m. local time after responding to reports of “an individual scaling a building near the 200 block of Sands Avenue.” The LVMPD did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for more info, or an arrest report, though the climber appears to be a man named Maison DesChamps, who nicknamed himself “Pro-Life Spider-Man” and seems to do this thing a lot.
LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill did happen to address the situation at a pre-Super Bowl press briefing. He called the incident a “publicity stunt” and seemed most concerned about assuring folks that local authorities were plenty prepared to handle the chaos of Super Bowl weekend, despite one content creator’s ability to ascend all the way to the damn top of the the Las Vegas Strip’s newest high-profile attraction.
“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,” McMahill said (via KTNV).
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, a spokesperson for Sphere Entertainment said, “We are grateful to the local authorities for their support in this matter. The individuals involved are currently in the custody of LVMPD.”
Based on video shared on DesChamps’ Instagram, it seems like he had a pretty easy time climbing up the Sphere’s exterior, which is basically a big ladder when you think about it — a bunch of beams festooned with LED lights (that probably make for pretty good hand grips).
DesChamps shared a video from the top of the Sphere as well, saying he was trying to raise money for a woman named Isabel to keep her from going ahead with an abortion. He directed people to a fundraiser organized by the anti-abortion nonprofit Let Them Live, which has, as of publication, raised $267 out of its stated $25,000 goal.
This is far from the first time DesChamps has scaled a building in support of anti-abortion, or other right-wing causes. He was arrested in 2022 for climbing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and was previously arrested in Vegas for scaling the Aria Resort & Casino in protest of Covid-19 regulations.
