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NEW YORK (REUTERS) – A New York woman who is scaled to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty to Protest US immigration policy pleaded not guilty to trespassing, disorderly conduct and interfering with government administration in her first court appearance on Thursday (July 5).
Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, was arrested on Wednesday after she climbed the statue's pedestal and began to walk away from the United States, celebrating US independence.
After the brief arraignment on the three misdemeanor charges, Magistrate Judge Ona Wang ordered Okoumou to be released from federal custody.
Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney in Manhattan, called the hours-long protest a "dangerous stunt" that endangered lives.
"While we must and do respect the rights of the people to peaceable protesters," Berman said
An activist group called Rise and Resist said on Facebook that Okoumou was part of a protest on the basis of the statue against immigration policy.
The protesters unfurled a banner that read "Abolish ICE", the Acronym for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Created in 2003, the agency has a focus on criticism over US President Donald Trump's policy of "zero tolerance" for illegal immigration.
About two dozen people, including some of Okoumou's fellow protesters, gathered in the courtroom's public gallery. 19659002] "People are learning about 'Abolish ICE', they're learning that there are other options," said Martin Quinn, a 47-year-old Rise and Resist member. "
Okoumou was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo before moving to New York, according to Jamie Bauer, another protest. The New York Daily News reported, [20179002] ICE, along with US Customs and Border Protection and the US Department of Justice. Trustees in the United States from Mexico.
Television footage on Wednesday showed two officers, outfitted in harnesses and ropes, slowly approaching a woman and grabbing Her Majesty's Lady of Liberty's Dresses
Seven protesters were arrested on the island, the National Park Service said .
The incident forced authorities to evacuate the Liberty Island, a symbol of the American freedom that has stood in the New York Harbor since 1886.
The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, has become a worldwide symbol of American values. Inscribed on its base is a sonnet by Emma Lazarus, which includes the famous lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
The next hearing in Okoumou's case is set for Aug 3.
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