OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – It was a busy day for McIntyre Law Chopper 4 Tuesday morning as it captured a shocking sight in downtown Oklahoma City. A 23-year-old free solo climbed the Devon Tower, the state’s tallest building, and within seconds after he was done, he was taken into custody. It was soon found out that it was all in protest against abortion.
Maison Des Champs said he has done it in several other cities. He has now done it in the state with the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. KFOR also asked him about the taxpayer resources he pulled away to ensure his safety.
“There’s no law that says you can’t climb skyscrapers,” Des Champs said hours after he was arrested and released from jail. “I mean, obviously it’s granted, they’re going to come out and they’re going to address the situation. But I think, you know, it’s part of the process.”
“We wanted to make sure that the situation was safe, not only for him and trying to get him to safety, but as for everyone else below or in the building, obviously [if] something falls off of him or if he were to fall,” said Capt. Valerie Littlejohn with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
It was over 700 feet in the sky as Des Champs finished his climb of the Devon Tower Tuesday morning. He was eventually met by several Oklahoma City firefighters and police officers who took him into custody for trespassing. Hours later, he was released from jail, telling News 4 he climbed buildings in San Francisco, New York, Detroit and Las Vegas. However, this time, he chose the state with the strictest abortion laws in the entire country and broadcasted it live on Instagram.
“It doesn’t matter where or what building I climb; it sort of gets the attention on the Internet,” he said.
Littlejohn said they did have to pull several officers down there along with firefighters.
“There were a lot,” she said.
Although she said they’re good at taking care of any calls in any situation, she said these things can cause issues.
“It could take away from other calls at the moment,” she said. “We want our officers and our fire personnel to be safe, and first responders, because they’re putting themselves at risk as well, trying to get him to safety.”
When asked if he planned to climb anywhere else, Des Champs said his attorney said he couldn’t answer questions like that.