An anti-abortion activist, who described himself as the ‘pro-life Spider-Man’, has been arrested after rappelling down the 588-foot Accenture Tower in Chicago without a rope.
Maison Des Champs was caught on camera free-climbing the 40-story building in the Windy City on Tuesday.
A person using Des Champs Instagram account live-streamed the stunt, which was performed at the tower where the Israeli consulate is located.
Footage of him walking up the glass building was quickly shared on social media.
Des Champs regularly scaled large skyscrapers to help raise funds for the anti-abortion movement.
Des Champs shared a video of himself mid-climb and shared it to his Instagram account, but the audio has been removed
Des Champs regularly scaled large skyscrapers to help raise funds for the anti-abortion movement
According to a press release, Des Champs began Tuesday’s climb to help a mother of two, known only as Sierra, who recently found herself unexpectedly pregnant.
He hoped to raise money for charity ‘Let Them Live’ so they could help Sierra ‘choose life for her unborn child’ and to help her be financially stable.
Des Champs shared a video of himself mid-climb and shared it to his Instagram account, but the audio has been removed.
He also opened a can of ‘wake-free’ beer Ultra Right once he reached the top of the building, after being sponsored by the company.
Photos of him passing people inside the building also show him wearing a t-shirt from the company.
The man who filmed the climb confirmed that he would not be arrested for public intoxication as the can was filled with sparkling water.
Shortly after reaching the top, Des Champs was arrested by Chicago police, according to the fire department.
In a statement, the Chicago Police Department said: ‘Officers were able to arrest the offender without incident.
“No injuries have been reported and charges are pending. No other information is available.”
an online fundraiser includes a message from Des Champs who said: ‘Today I climb not only a building free, but a mountain of hope for a young mother named Sierra, teetering on the brink of abortion.
‘About 17 weeks into her surprise pregnancy, Sierra is struggling with whether to hold or fold, and we, through Let Them Live, have the chance to be her safety net.
‘Sierra’s journey has not been an easy climb. After a series of heartbreaks and medical obstacles, she unexpectedly found herself pregnant and then abandoned by the father of her unborn child.
Des Champs began the climb to help a mother of two, known only as Sierra, who recently found herself unexpectedly pregnant
Photos of him passing people in the building also show him wearing a t-shirt from the company Ultra Right bear
Des Champs, seen here climbing the Salesforce Tower last May, is no stranger to climbing buildings
Last May, Des Champs reached the top of the 50-story Devon Tower, the tallest in Oklahoma, without any safety equipment
With her work hours cut, rent piling up, and family ties providing no anchor, she scheduled an abortion, thinking it was her only way forward amid the turmoil.
“Let us rally together, as we have done for so many pregnant women, and forge a path for Sierra to move from despair to hope, from financial crisis to stability.”
During the live stream, officers approached the man and could be heard questioning him about alleged ‘reckless behaviour’ as he filmed the building.
One officer also told the man that he was an accomplice to Des Champs getting out of the building.
Footage also shows Des Champs from inside the building as he made it past the 16th floor of the building.
Ultra Right Beer CEO Seth Weathers was also in Chicago for the climb and shared a video from Des Champs confirming he sponsored the climb.
Weathers can be heard saying, ‘I’m in downtown Chicago. Maison climbs free on the side of the Accenture building.
‘He’s raising money for the pro-life organization Let Them Live. Ultra Right Beer sponsored this climb, against the wishes of our lawyers.’
Des Champs also climbed the entire Salesforce Tower without a harness in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade.
Des Champs was previously arrested last May for climbing San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower.
Two days later, he managed to climb out of the New York Times building and a complaint was made to the police.
On that climb, Des Champs hung a sign on the building’s sixth and seventh floors that read ‘ABORTION KILLS MORE THAN 911 EVERY WEEK!’
Des Champs was also arrested for climbing the Devon Tower in Oklahoma, as well as every other tower he climbed.
On his website, Des Champs describes himself as an experienced rock climber, and says he is motivated to climb to raise funds for the anti-abortion movement after Roe vs Wade.
Des Champs, who started rock climbing at age 16 and was a finance major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but it is unclear if he is still studying.