Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Statue of Liberty Climber Awaits Court Appearance
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
July 5, 2018

Share

NEW YORK — Authorities say a Fourth of July protester who held police at bay for hours after she climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty, causing an evacuation, will face a judge in New York.
A federal official says the woman told police she was protesting the separation of immigrant children from parents who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
A court appearance is expected sometime Thursday.

Climber Identified as Therese Okoumou

The official identified the woman as Therese Okoumou. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss it and spoke on the condition of anonymity. A message left at a possible phone number for the defendant hasn’t been returned.
A group that organized a protest at the statue earlier Wednesday says she also took part in unfurling a banner at the statue’s pedestal. But the group says no one else was aware she would climb the base.
At least six people were arrested in the banner demonstration.

Details of the Rescue

After two New York Police Department officers went up to the base and reached her, news helicopter video showed Okoumou and the officers moving carefully along the edge of the statue’s robes toward a ladder police had set up.
She climbed down about 25 feet to the statue’s observation point, with another officer descending ahead of her.
As they approached, she initially moved away, took off her shoes and appeared to be starting to climb further.
Then she sat against the statue’s foot, and the officers went up to her. They put on her shoes and attached a harness to her.
Her climb spurred the evacuation of Liberty Island.

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

UP NEXT

Trump’s Executive Orders: Reversing Biden’s Policies

UP NEXT

Trump Returns to Power After Unprecedented Comeback, Emboldened to Reshape US

UP NEXT

Trump to Release Records on the Assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King

UP NEXT

Walmart Breaks into Luxury Resale Market, Will Offer Chanel, Fendi, Prada, Other Brands

UP NEXT

The Big Chill: Siberian Air to Make Trump Swearing-in Coldest in 40 Years

UP NEXT

Proposed Rules Would Require Nutrition Info, Allergen Warnings on Alcohol Labels

UP NEXT

South African Police End Mine Rescue Operation With at Least 78 Dead and 246 Survivors

UP NEXT

Google Signs Deal With AP to Deliver Up-to-Date News Through Its Gemini AI Chatbot

UP NEXT

Jeffrey Epstein’s Estate Got a $112 Million Tax Refund

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

8 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

9 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

9 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

11 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

11 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

11 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on pai...

4 hours ago

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as he attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
4 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
7 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
7 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend