Climber of the Statue of Liberty accused of intrusion

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A woman who was climbing on the Statue of Liberty on the basis of the monument was accused of intrusion.

Tourists were evacuated from the Island of Liberty in New York Harbor on Wednesday during a three-hour stalemate involving local and federal authorities.

US authorities identified her as Thérèse Okoumou, a 44-year-old immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Ms. Okoumou reportedly protested President Trump's zero tolerance policy on immigration .

She was formally charged in a Manhattan court Thursday with intrusion, interference with government agency duties, and disorderly conduct, each of which can result in up to six months in jail.

US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement that Ms. Okoumou "staged a dangerous action that alarmed the public and endangered her own life and that of the NYPD officers who reacted on the scene

"While we must respect the rights of the people to a peaceful demonstration, this right does not extend to a break. the law in a way that puts others at risk. "

The allegations allege that she endangered herself and the officers by refusing to come down during the three-hour clash.

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"At first she was not friendly with us, but we took the time to have a relationship with her, so it took a while. "Brian Glacken, detective of the New York police, said at a press conference

" She just mentioned the children in Texas. I think the whole debate is going on, "he said in reference to migrant children who were abducted from illegally detained relatives for illegally entering the United States.

"At first she threatened to push us away. "We stopped the scale, but we stayed with her," he continues.

Earlier, several people were arrested after protests against the statue

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Members of the activist group Rise and Resist had previously unveiled an "Abolish Ice" banner on the pedestal of the statue

The sign referred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government agency responsible for the removal of undocumented immigrants from the United States. The New York Police Department (NYPD) was called to the scene around 3:30 pm Wednesday, shortly after reports of an individual who climbed the monument.

It took the authorities nearly three hours to deport Ms. Okoumou. Ness, Eric Kwasi Oppongto, posted a short video of the incident on Twitter, which he said involved a person wearing a T-shirt sporting "Trump care makes me sick" and "Rise and Resist".

Another user, Sarah, said that the island was "evacuated from all tourists"

It took the police three hours to coax Ms. Okoumou, a personal trainer, by a scale set at pedestal of the statue. They said that prosecutors would later decide if she would be charged with any crime.

Detective Glacken, who works for the Emergency Department of the New York Police Department, said that the operation was not easy.

"It was a very technical rescue just because of the slopes." There was nothing for [my colleague] Chris [Williams] and me to seize, "he said.

"At first she was not friendly with us but we took our time to get in touch with her … when we got her and she could not go further, I think she realized that her time was up there. "

Rise and Resist first denied any connection to the climber.

The group of anti-Trump activists later acknowledged that Ms. Okoumou had helped to plan the banner demonstration, but she continued to believe that climbing was her idea.

There have been recent protests across the country of migrants from their parents, who were detained for crossing the border without papers.

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Wednesday's protests took place on the 4th of July holiday celebrating the independence of the United States

National Park Services officials estimate that about 20,000 tourists visit the statue to mark the holiday .

On Twitter, a conservative black comedian criticizes the protester "I've never seen a black person climb to the statue to protest the black-on-black crime and that separates families permanently," writes Terrence Williams

but other users rented the event. In February of last year, protesters hung a giant banner "Refugees Welcome" on the observation deck of the Statue of Liberty.

The attachment of objects to the national monument, symbol of the acceptance of immigrants by America, is strictly prohibited. Park Service Police.