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An activist has been convicted of a series of crimes under federal law after she went to the Statue of Liberty this summer to protest the American policy of separating families migrants and to keep children in detention.
Magistrate Judici Gabriel Gorenstein sentenced Thérèse Patricia Okoumou, who passes Patricia on Monday afternoon after a one-day trial in New York, claiming that the political and moral motives of the protester did not take precedence on the law.
Okoumou was in tears on Monday. She told a judge in New York that the treatment of children at the US-Mexico border had prompted her to climb the statue during a high-profile protest on July 4.
"I wanted to send a strong statement. Okoumou said Monday morning at the start of his trial in Manhattan federal court.
"I went as high as possible," she told the court, echoing a reflection she had made shortly after her episode of civil disobedience during the summer, she explained that she had wanted to climb to the very top of the statue, but that she feared for her life.
<img class = "gu-image" itemprop = "contentUrl" alt = "Okoumou, an activist, climbed the Statue of Liberty on July 4. [19659007] Okoumou, an activist, climbed the Statue of Liberty. Liberty on July 4. Photo: AP
Okoumou, a naturalized American citizen born in Congo and living in Staten Island, faces charges of property infringement and disruption of the operation of government agencies, as well as disorderly behavior with his climb. She pleaded not guilty.
She was the subject of a trial, not a jury, after Gorenstein ruled that there was no right to a jury trial for minor offenses.
Okoumou's main concern, as she has been since her rise, when she had to be picked up by law enforcement officers tied to ropes, is the children, she said. declared. 19659002] Although a decree of last summer had reversed the policy of separating children from their parents when crossing the border illegally, the Trump administration would have continued to do so by various means, also holding children who had crossed the border unaccompanied, hoping to seek asylum or to join relatives already in the United States.
Several thousand migrant minors are currently being held in a fast-growing detention camp near El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, many children languish in the deteriorating living conditions on the Mexican side of the border.
And while Trump reprimands asylum claims, many migrants find themselves in an administrative – and humanitarian – void.
Okoumou said she was upset. learn politics in April.
"I'm sorry to cry," Okoumou said in an increasingly emotional court, later explaining, "I could not live with it."
In our country, we do not treat children as political bait, "she said. "I've just had nightmares and night sweats."
One of Okoumou's lawyers, renowned civil rights litigator, Ron Kuby, asked if she thought "that you did you in any way contribute to the reunification of children with their parents? "
Assistant US Attorney Brett Kalikow objected to the question.
"Relevance?" Gorenstein asked.
"Well, no, really, your honor," said Kuby, causing chuckles in the gallery.
Kuby then asked Okoumou to
"Unfortunately as long as our children are put in cages, my moral values urge me to act, said Okoumou.
"So, is it your testimony that you would still do the same?" insisted Kuby.
"Yes," Okoumou replied.
Kalikow did not ask Okoumou – who wore a cobalt dress with the words "Seeking asylum is NOT a crime." For his appearance in court – any questions
During the day, opening statements announced the end of the trial, while prosecutors focused on the rules, while Okoumou's supporters focused on the conscience.
She knew what she was doing was wrong and illegal, "Kalikow said in her opening statement …" It's not about knowing if there is political or moral sympathy with the defendant. "
Kuby said in her speech that the policy of separation of families" created in her an imperative to act. "
" She did it. "The most important day of America on the most important symbol of America. "
The lawyer Michael Avenatti, who joined Okoumou's legal team, sat in the front row of the tribune.
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