Statue of Liberty Protester Receives Probation, Community Service
Federal prosecutors had recommended 30 days in jail and five years' probation for Therese Okoumou, the Staten Island woman who climbed onto the base of the Statue of Liberty on July 4 to protest President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
March 19, 2019 at 04:46 PM
2 minute read
Therese Okoumou, the Staten Island woman who climbed onto the base of the Statue of Liberty on July 4 to protest President Donald Trump's immigration policies, has been sentenced to five years' probation and 200 hours of community service.
The 45-year-old Congolese immigrant showed up to her hearing Tuesday morning wearing a white headband that read “I care!” and her face wrapped in clear tape. She said the tape represented the limits placed on her freedom of expression, according to BuzzFeed.
Presiding Judge Gabriel Gorenstein asked her to remove the tape before sentencing. Okoumou complied.
“I do not need probation and I do not belong in prison,” she told the court. ”I am not a criminal.”
Federal prosecutors had recommended 30 days in jail and five years' probation. In July, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman of the Southern District of New York released a statement that called Okoumou's protest “a dangerous stunt” that endangered not only her own life but the lives of the New York City Police Department officers on the scene. ”While we must and do respect the rights of the people to peaceable protest, that right does not extend to breaking the law in ways that put others at risk,” he said.
Gorenstein told her she would be jailed if she broke the law during any subsequent protests. Since the Statue of Liberty incident, Okoumou has climbed the Eiffel Tower and a detention facility for immigrant children in Austin, Texas.
In February, the judge had asked prosecutors to arrange a trip to Liberty Island where he could climb a ladder ”to better appreciate the risks or hazards created by defendant's conduct.” The request was denied by the U.S. Park Police due to safety concerns.
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