A man scaling the 60-floor Salesforce Tower in San Francisco on Tuesday morning was captured on video by awe-struck onlookers.
The sight of the man climbing Salesforce Tower riveted a crowd of onlookers around 9:30 am. The man, who describes himself in his social media profile as "Pro-Life Spiderman" even posted videos to Instagram story as he climbed. He appeared calm and collected, and said, "It's going rad, It's all going good, I just wish I had a little water."
Upon reaching the top of the approximately 1,000-foot-tall skyscraper around 11 a.m., he was taken into custody.
Officer Robert Rueca said that police were flagged down at 9:20 a.m. by people who spotted the climber on the city's tallest building. Soon Police closed nearby streets and sent medics to 415 Mission Street.
The climber identified himself as 22-year-old Maison DesChamps and admitted that he was "kinda trippin.'" He said he recently started climbing skyscrapers to spread his anti-abortion message.
The San Francisco Fire Department tweeted that the person "is placing firefighters lives and the [public's] safety at risk. AVOID THE AREA and join us in condemning this action."
By 11 a.m, officers waiting for him at the top of the building took DesChamps into custody. According to a police source, DesChamps told officers he wouldn't give them any trouble once he scaled the building, and the police department said he was arrested without incident after he climbed onto the rooftop. Officers said it was simply too dangerous to try to stop him as he climbed.
"So unless that person gets stuck, or asks to be rescued, it's generally best to monitor them take whatever actions we can to mitigate any risk and allow them to get to a place of safety," said San Francisco Police Officer Kathryn Winters.
Police arrested him for trespassing and resisting delaying or obstructing police. Both are misdemeanors.
Many were not sure whether he would be able to make it all the way to the rooftop. "It's more nerve-wracking for me than for him. Seems relaxed up there," said Erwin Garcia. "I'm over here worried about him. But, I mean, yeah, there's other ways to protest abortion or whatever you want."
On social media, he had his share of supporters and detractors.
He also posted a rant against Dr. Cesare Santangelo of Washington, D.C., who has performed abortions in the past and has been a target of many on the religious right. On his website, DesChamps also said he climbed the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas last summer to protest COVID-19 mandates.
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