NYPD arrests woman who climbed Statue of Liberty after hours-long protest of kids imprisoned in Trump’s ICE camps
The protester, identified as Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, was seen scaling the base of the statue about
Okoumou's impromptu statue scaling triggered a call to police, who spent more than three hours trying to talk her off the nearly 200-foot-high perch.
Her initial response to the
"We started engaging in a dialogue of why she was up there," said ESU cop
Glacken said she threatened to push the officers' ladder off the statue's base.
Okoumou, who immigrated to the
"She didn't realize one of those vents could rip right out," Glacken said. "Once I explained that could rip right out, she got kind of worried."
The officer said that once she was convinced that they wanted her to come down safely, she became more cooperative.
Glacken and Officer
"She apologized to Chris and I for having to go up and get her," Glacken said.
Okoumou, who was arrested for trespassing and obstruction of government administration last August during a protest against the state
"Her decision to climb the statue was made independently of the group, without consulting any other member of the group," the activist group said in a statement. "We understand and share her desire to see the immediate release of children from detention and reunion with their parents. We hope that her legal representation will arrange for her release under her own recognizance."
The
"They were just trying to keep her calm," said
Despite their pleas, Okoumou refused to come down until her demand was met that ICE release all immigrant children detained by
As Okoumou sat under the statue's right foot, two harnessed NYPD ESU members, Glacken and Williams, slowly made their way over to the woman and grabbed her. They then strapped her to another harness and lowered her to safety.
Okoumou faces trespassing and other charges, officials said. She is due to appear in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday. The charges are expected to be violation of national park regulations or public use limit; trespassing; disorderly conduct, and interfering with government functions. All are federal misdemeanors.
"She broke the law and will be charged federally," said Willis, who added there was a concern Okoumou could damage the 132-year-old statue.
"She was on the copper of a national icon," Willis said, adding that the copper is very thin and malleable. "She could do some damage."
Okoumou walked along the base of the statue by
She had come to
"I understand why people would do this," said protester
Gold said that while unusual, Okoumou's action "was not violent."
Protest organizers said Okoumou has attended Rise and Resist meetings in the past.
"She's been a member of the organization for four or five months," said Walker, the spokesman for the protest group. "She's a terrific person. She's smart. She's passionate."
"We're absolutely gonna do anything and everything that we can to help her," he added. "I hope when they took her down they didn't injure her. That's our main concern."
Walker said Okoumou never told anyone about her plans to scale the statue.
"We don't know if she did it on the spur of the moment or if she had been planning it beforehand," he said.
Parks police arrested and cited seven people after the group unfurled an "Abolish ICE" banner at the base of the statue, according to a
The protesters also put on black T-shirts that spelled out "Abolish ICE."
As the banner was unfurled, Okoumou wandered off and started climbing the statue.
"We were met with cheers and applause," Kidd said. "Some people had questions and others wanted answers. It was a very informational and educational moment. A lot of people were very grateful for the opportunity to talk."
Others were not so happy.
At least one family of tourists, the Fonsecas, said they were upset that they had to leave
The seven protesters were cited for unlawful protest.
"ICE has proved to be a threat to our liberty and way of life, and should be abolished," added
The protest comes a week after a
Mayor de Blasio agrees with the legislation and growing demand to shut down the agency, calling it a "punitive tool" wielded by the federal government.
"It's no longer acceptable," de Blasio said on the Brian Lehrer show last week.
With
___
(c)2018 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News