'Abolish ICE': Liberty Island evacuated after climbers scale Statue of liberty pedestal, unfurls banner



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NEW YORK – Several people who hate a banner of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal calling for abolition of the federal government's chief executive officer of the United States.

30 meters above ground, the climber alternates the helicopter video showed. Police, standing on a ladder and a ledge nearby,

The climber made about an eight-meter ascent of the monument's observation point, National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis said. Visitors were forced to leave Liberty Island hours before its normal 6:15 pm closing time, he said.

Earlier and farther below, at least six people were taken into custody after unfurling a banner that read "Abolish ICE," Willis said . The message referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE officers arrest and deport immigrants who are in the United States illegally, among other duties.

Willis said federal regulations prohibit hanging banners from the monument.

The activist group behind the banner, Rise and Resist, tweeted that the climber

The New York-based group opposes President Donald Trump's administration and advocates ending deportations and family separations at the US-Mexico border. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the president's immigration policy is a step forward for public safety.

Under Trump's zero-tolerance policy, the government has begun to enforce the law.


A protestor is seen through an animal cage during a demonstration against the US immigration policies separating migrant families in Chicago, June 30, 2018.

] JIM YOUNG / AFP / Getty Images

Under public pressure, Trump later halt his policy of taking children from their parents. A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration late last month to reunite the more than 2,000 children with their parents in 30 days, or 14 days in the case of those under age 5.

"Abolish ICE" has become a rallying cry

ICE will "never happen!"

To the great and brave men and women of ICE do not worry or lose your spirit. You are doing a fantastic job of keeping safe by eradicating the worst criminal elements. So brave! The radical left Dems want you out. Next it will be all police. Zero luck, It will never happen!

– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2018

Protests and evacuations at the Statue of Liberty are rare but not unheard of.

Last February , someone hung a banner reading "Refugees Welcome" from the observation deck.

A year earlier, a West Virginia with a bomb threat. His memorial of the liberation of Liberty Island, sending 3,200 people to Manhattan and New Jersey.

The statue, a gift from France, was dedicated in 1886. It became a welcoming symbol for immigrants and refugees US

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