Statue of Liberty protest: Woman climber taken into custody – By Brynn Gingras and Alanne Orjoux (cnn.com) / July 4 2018
A woman who climbed up to the robes of the Statue of Liberty to protest the separation of migrant families was taken into custody after a standoff with police on the Fourth of July.
Authorities had tried to talk the woman down but she refused to leave. For nearly two hours, she crossed the base of the statue, at times sitting in the folds of the statue’s dress and under Lady Liberty’s sandal. Finally, officers with ropes and climbing gear reached her. They put a harness and ropes on her to bring her down, and she crossed to the other side of the statue with the officers where a ladder was propped up on the base of the statue.
The woman was part of a group of protesters and had declared that she wouldn’t come down until “all the children are released,” a source with the New York Police Department told CNN.
The woman, who was not identified, is affiliated with Rise and Resist, an organizer of the group, Martin Joseph Quinn, told CNN. But, Quinn said, her climb was not part of the planned protest. “She climbed without our knowledge. It was not part of our action. We are deeply concerned for her safety,” Quinn said.
National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis said the woman was in federal custody Wednesday evening and will be transported to a US Marshals office in Manhattan.
Park police have recommended charges to the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Willis added. Possible charges include trespassing, disorderly conduct and interfering with government functions.
© WCBS
‘Lady Liberty is weeping’
Earlier, other protesters unfurled a banner over a railing around the base of the statue saying “Abolish ICE!” At least seven people were arrested on Liberty Island and the site was closed to visitors.
Statue of Liberty Fast Facts
Jay W. Walker, an organizer and board member of Rise and Resist, told CNN the theme of the protest was that Lady Liberty is weeping over the unconstitutional excesses of ICE under the Trump administration.
“We thought we wanted to do something on our Independence Day, a day that obviously is meant for reflection on the ideals on which this nation was founded. This country has posited itself as a beacon. Right now, we have a government that is actively turning its back on those ideals,” Walker said.
© WCBS The protester who climbed onto the Statue of Liberty is led away by police on July 4, 2018.
Visitors turned away
Liberty Island was evacuated during the police action, according to Willis.
Tourist Tiana Smith of Atlanta said she was walking toward the statue during a tour Wednesday afternoon when the workers there started telling everyone to turn back.
“We got towards the ferry to ride back and we saw the SWAT team get off, and the police officers came with their harness and the helicopters, so we were like, yeah, we just need to go,” she told CNN.
Statue Cruises, which provides trips to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, had to turn away as many as 3,000 people because of the statue climber, company representative Rafael Abreu told CNN.
The Fourth of July is normally one of their busiest days of the year and they typically see 22,000 visitors on summer days, says Abreu.
At one point, the protester walked back and forth under Lady Liberty’s sandal and then sat down and appeared to unfurl a small flag or banner.
The NYPD had built a rope rescue system to help bring the woman down from the base, because officers didn’t believe she would come down on her own, a police source told CNN.
