A woman who climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty on Independence Day to protest the separation of immigrant children from parents who cross the U.S.-Mexico border was due to be arraigned in a New York federal court Thursday.
Theresa Okoumou of Staten Island, New York was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and interference with governmental administration after scaling the stone pedestal, holding police at bay and prompting an evacuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper reported the 45-year-old was being held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
An activist organization called “Rise and Resist” said on Facebook she was participating in an Independence Day protest against U.S. immigration policy at the base of the iconic symbol of freedom.
The organization said it was in the process of getting legal representation for Okoumou, who reportedly was born and educated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has lived in the U.S. for the last decade.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump recently began separating some children from their parents when they cross illegally into the U.S. from Mexico but shelved the policy in the face of mounting opposition.
The statue has been located on a small island in New York Harbor since 1886. It was given to the U.S. by France as a global symbol of American values.
Inscribed on the base of the statue is a poem by Emma Lazarus, which says, in part, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
