PHOENIX — The anti-abortion protester who climbed Arizona's tallest building remains unapologetic and said he doesn't plan on stopping any time soon, despite firefighters' warnings.
"Uh, no," Maison DesChamps said when asked if he will stop climbing. "My lawyer probably doesn’t want me to comment on that."
DesChamps spent 30 hours in jail after climbing the former Chase Tower's 40 floors. It's the longest amount of time he's spent behind bars for one of his stunts.
The self-proclaimed "Pro-Life Spider-Man" has live-streamed himself numerous times climbing tall buildings across the U.S., including Las Vegas, New York, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. All of his climbs have reportedly been in the name of supporting an Indiana-based anti-abortion organization.
DesChamps allegedly raised $7,000 for the organization during his climb of the former Chase Tower, money which the organization said it would use the money to help cancel abortions for women who were motivated by a lack of finances.
But, there's no telling how much taxpayer money was spent on the city's deployment of firefighters and emergency response personnel because of the stunt.
"I wish that we didn’t have to use tax dollars for what I do, but it’s a sad fact," DesChamps said. "I’m not breaking the law. There’s no law that says I can’t climb a skyscraper. I wish they didn’t show up. I wish that I could do what I do."
12News got in touch with the San Francisco Fire Department about the cost of the city's response when DesChamps did a similar stunt on the outside of Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. The department's officials said they couldn't put a price on the 2022 stunt, but it required all on-duty crews to respond.
"The biggest cost is that of life safety protection to those in need of services, as these incidents take valuable resources from the public while we address it," a spokesperson said.
The Phoenix Fire Department held a similar approach to the stunt. The officials who responded to DesChamps's climb on Tuesday said their priority was to make sure he was taken from the tower safely.
They also strongly condemned the stunt.
"This is extremely dangerous, highly frowned upon," a firefighter told 12News during DesChamps's climb.
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