Statue Of Liberty Climber Charged With Trespassing

Therese Patricia Okoumou walks out of federal court from her arraignment, a day after authorities say she scaled the stone pedestal of the Statue of Liberty to protest U.S. immigration policy, in Manhattan, New York, U.S., July 5, 2018. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, was arrested on Wednesday after she climbed the statue's pedestal and began a three-hour standoff with police that led to the evacuation of the landmark on the Fourth of July holiday, celebrating U.S. independence.

Ms Okoumou said she was protesting against President Trump's zero-tolerance policy on immigration.

She pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanour trespassing and disorderly conduct in a Manhattan court on Thursday.

After her brief arraignment on the three misdemeanor charges, Magistrate Judge Ona Wang ordered Okoumou to be released from federal custody.

Ms Okoumou, donning a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "White Supremacy is Terrorism", told reporters outside the courthouse that she scaled the landmark in an impromptu protest.

"When they go low, we go high and I went as high as I could," she said, quoting former First Lady Michelle Obama. "No children belong in a cage," she said.





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