SCORN ON THE 4th OF JULY
Anti-Trump protester scales Lady Liberty Seeks independence for kids jailed by ICE Holds out for hours before cops drag her down
A woman wearing an antiTrump T-shirt climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty on Independence Day, sparking a mass evacuation of Liberty Island and a nearly four-hour standoff with first responders before she was taken into custody, officials said.
The protester, identified as Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, was seen scaling the base of the statue about 3 p.m., moments after the group Rise and Resist formed a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Liberty Island.
Okoumou's impromptu statue scaling triggered a call to police, who spent more than three hours trying to talk her off the nearly 200foot-high perch.
Her initial response to the NYPD Emergency Services Unit's attempt to rescue her was hostile after cops positioned a ladder in an attempt to reach her.
“We started engaging in a dialogue of why she was up there,” said ESU cop Brian Glacken, one of two officers who ascended the ladder. “She was basically up there about the children in Texas. At first she wasn't friendly with us, but we took our time to get a dialogue with her, to get her to trust us. That took a while.”
Glacken said she threatened to push the officers' ladder off the statue's base.
Okoumou, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tied herself to one of the copper vents by the feet of Lady Liberty.
“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 Chris Williams, who rescued a man climbing Trump Tower in 2016, managed to grab Okoumou about 6:30 p.m. after she began waving her shirt, which read “Rise & Resist” on one side and “Trump Care Makes Us Sick” on the other.
“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 Department of Labor on Varick St., has a long history of civil rights protest, but only joined the group Rise and Resist within the last few months, according to organizer Jay Walker.
“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 U.S. Parks Police evacuated the island as a precaution as they tried to bring the climber down. Parks workers also cordoned off the base of the statue with chairs to prevent anyone from getting close, witnesses said.
Ellis Island remained open Wednesday, officials said.
The NYPD’s emergency services unit, harbor unit and aviation unit, as well as the Port Authority Police Department, K-9 units and a counterterror team, were called in to assist Parks Police, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
“They were just trying to keep her calm,” said U.S. National Parks Service spokesman Jerry Willis. “The ultimate goal is her safety and the safety of the officers.”
Despite their pleas, Okoumou refused to come down until her demand was met that ICE release all immigrant children detained by President Trump’s zero tolerance policy.
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 Lady Liberty’s sandals, then decided to sit down by the folds of her robe, witnesses said.
She had come to Liberty Island as part of an anti-ICE protest sponsored by the group Rise and Resist.
“I understand why people would do this,” said protester Kellen Gold, 20. “People are taking drastic actions against the recent immigration policies.”
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 Parks Police spokesman.
The protesters also put on black T-shirts that spelled out “Abolish ICE.”