Anti-abortion activist climbs Arizona's tallest building

[February 08, 2023]  By Brendan O'Brien
 
(Reuters) - An anti-abortion activist scaled the 40-story Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, local media reported, days before the area hosts Super Bowl LVII.

Rescue workers met Maison Des Champs, known as the "Pro-Life Spider-Man," on the roof of the state's tallest building moments after he reached the top at about 10:45 a.m. local time, according to local CBS affiliate 3TV.

"This is a stupid, stupid move. This is so dangerous," Phoenix Fire Department Captain Todd Keller told reporters after the 480-foot climb. "You put not only yourself in danger, you put firefighters in danger."

Maison Deschamps climbs Chase Tower in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. February 7, 2023 in this still image taken from social media video. Jim Wyatt/via REUTERS

It is unclear if Des Champs was taken into custody. Phoenix police were not immediately available for comment.

The stunt came days before tens of millions of sports fans turn their attention to Super Bowl LVII, to be played in nearby Glendale, Arizona, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Des Champs said on his website that he had climbed the building to raise awareness for Let Them Live, a charity that helps women cancel their abortions by providing financial support and to raise money for a woman named Hope, who is due to have an abortion on Friday.

The abortion issue has become one of the defining fault lines in U.S. politics and society, especially after the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling last year that ended the constitutional right to abortion.

Des Champs, who appeared to have scaled the Chase Tower without ropes, has been arrested several times over the last year after climbing buildings in Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and San Francisco.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago)

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