‘Pro-Life Spider-Man’ busted after climbing 500-foot building housing Israeli Consulate
An activist who calls himself “Pro-Life Spider-Man” was arrested this week after a death-defying climb up the Accenture Tower in Chicago, which houses the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.
Stunned onlookers first noticed the climber, whose real name is Maison Des Champs, around 10 a.m. local time Tuesday.
He scaled the nearly 600-foot building without a rope or any safety equipment and was swiftly arrested after reaching the top, police said.
The Chicago fire and police departments were dispatched to the scene, and streets in the area were blocked off for approximately one hour, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
Escalators and elevators were switched off as authorities, including SWAT team members, made their way inside the building, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Read more about 'Pro-Life Spider-Man' Maison Des Champs' stunts
- Maison Des Champs — the daredevil activist who calls himself the “Pro-Life Spider-Man” — scaled the New York Times building in Manhattan on May 5, 2022. The climber hung one banner that read “ABORTION KILLS MORE THAN 911 EVERY WEEK!” and another that depicted an image of a fetus.
- Des Champs climbed the 50-floor Devon Tower in Oklahoma City on June 14, 2022. The activist was arrested as soon as he got to the top of the skyscraper.
- Ahead of Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix, Des Champs was arrested for ascending a 40-story building in the city’s downtown on Feb. 7, 2023. The stunt took place just 15 miles from State Farm Stadium. He claimed to be raising awareness and money for anti-abortion causes.
- Des Champs was arrested yet again for climbing Chicago’s 600-foot Accenture Tower on Oct. 11, 2023. The building notably houses the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.
- The pro-life demonstrator climbed on top of the Las Vegas Sphere on Feb. 7, 2024 — just days before Super Bowl LVIII. Des Champs claimed to be raising money for a homeless pregnant woman named Isabel. He was taken into police custody after being told to “go through the top” to get down from the Sphere.
Tuesday’s stunt wasn’t Des Champs’ first time imitating the famed Marvel web-slinger. The anti-abortion activist has made more than half a dozen similar climbs around the country to raise awareness and money for the pro-life movement and other causes, usually livestreaming his antics to his Instagram page.
In 2021, Des Champs was arrested after climbing the Aria hotel in Las Vegas, reportedly to protest COVID-19 restrictions. In May 2022, Des Champs was arrested in San Francisco after he scrambled up the 1,070-foot Salesforce Tower, the second-tallest building in California.
Just two days later, he was back at it, scaling the 721-foot New York Times building on Eighth Avenue near West 40th Street to hang a pair of anti-abortion banners.
One of his most high-profile stunts came ahead of this year’s Super Bowl in Phoenix, when he was apprehended after climbing the vacant 40-story high-rise formerly known as the Chase Tower.
