A woman tried to climb the Statue of Liberty on 4th of July to protest Donald Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy. She has since been arrested and charged with several complaints including trespassing.
The woman was identified as Therese Patricia Okoumou. She was part of a group of protestors and refused to come down until the children of immigrants families were released, according to CNN.
Around 16 officers from New York Police Department tried to get her down from the statue for three hours. She was seen sitting in the folds of the statue's dress and under Lady Liberty's sandal.
At first she was stubborn, but finally the officers brought her down after three hours. Liberty Island was evacuated while the authorities tried to rescue her.
The woman who tried to climb the Statue of Liberty on the 4th of July will appear in court later today.
— CBSDenver (@CBSDenver) July 5, 2018
Police say Therese Okoumou was protesting the separation of undocumented immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. https://t.co/1LAm6nuI1n pic.twitter.com/YQGWlxZjNC
Therese is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has lived in New York for at least a decade and is affiliated with “Rise and Resist”, a non-profit organization. The organization was formed in 2016 after the US presidential election. Since then the organization has been active against Trump’s administration and policies.
Seven other members of Rise and Resist were at the Statue of Liberty with a large banner reading “Abolish Ice.” But the group declined their affiliation with Thereses’ action in a statement.
"None of us know how she got up there," said Jay Walker, an organizer and board member of Rise and Resist, told CNN.
All the protesters were arrested along with Therese on Wednesday evening and are in federal custody. They will face unlawful protest charges.