A self-proclaimed “Pro-Life Spider-Man” scaled the 52-story, 721-foot New York Times building Thursday morning and hung two banners decrying abortion, according to police sources and his Instagram page.
The climber — Maison DesChamps, who chronicled his expedition on the Instagram page Pro-Life Spider-Man — appeared to have started climbing the building on Eighth Avenue near West 40th Street around 5 a.m., the sources said.
On his way up, DesChamps hung two banners on the sixth or seventh floor, according to his sources.
One, hung vertically, is blue, about 5 feet by 10 feet and reads, “ABORTION KILLS MORE THAN 911 EVERY WEEK!”
Another, hung horizontally, is white and about 7 feet by 4 feet, with an image of a fetus and calling out a specific doctor whom it accuses of having “killed this baby.”
Police officials confirmed they were notified of two banners hung on the building regarding abortion.
“Hey Instagram, I put up my banners,” DesChamps said in one Instagram clip. “No one seems to be home this early, but they’re gonna like my banner, I’ll tell you that.”
“I am pretty high up, about halfway, I’d say, maybe, I don’t know,” he said. “But damn, I think I’m gonna make it up to the boss level before they figure out I’m up here. No one’s seen me yet. Kind of cool.
“Oh yeah, the city that never sleeps,” DesChamps said in another clip, as the camera panned the pre-dawn cityscape. “Well, sleep on this.”
Once the climber reached the top, he is believed to have climbed all the way down the stairs, according to police sources.
Daredevil Maison DesChamps dubs himself the “Pro-Life Spider-Man.” Instagram/@maison.deschamps
“It’s a lot easier when they let you down the elevator, let me tell you,” he said in another clip. “The stairs thing is hard. I’m tired.”
“I’m gonna be pissed if I run down all these stairs and they’re waiting for me at the bottom,” he added. “It’s gonna suck.”
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.
But no one was waiting for him, and police were unable to confirm any arrests by the afternoon.
“While we fully support an individual’s right to express their point of view, this was an unlawful and dangerous act,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Maison DesChamps argues abortion doctors are killing “babies on the table.” Instagram/@maison.deschampsJust two days ago, DesChamps climbed San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower — the tallest skyscraper in California, at 1,070 feet and 61 stories, KABC reported.
DesChamps, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, told the outlet his goal was to raise $1 million to support anti-abortion charities and “save lives.” It’s unclear how much money he was able to raise.
“These doctors are literally killing these babies on the table and leaving them out to die,” he told the outlet. “We’re not trying to yell at women who want to have an abortion, we don’t want to blame them … we just want to let them know there are other options.”
He said he’d been planning the climb for a month, but the leak of a draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade gave him some extra motivation.
