Statue of Liberty Climber: ‘I Went as High as I Could’

The woman who climbed the Statue of Liberty on Wednesday to protest U.S. immigration policies was charged with “trespassing, interference with government agency functions, and disorderly conduct,” according to WABC. Therese Patricia Okoumou, 44, pleaded not guilty on Thursday and spoke in front of a crowd gathered in front of a New York City courthouse. “Michelle Obama... said when they go low, we go high. And I went as high as I could,” she said, calling President Donald Trump a “monster.” “Trump has ripped this country apart. It is depressing. It is outrageous… His draconian zero-tolerance policy on immigration has to go.” Okoumou is from Staten Island, but she immigrated to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994. Her Fourth of July stunt came shortly after members of a group called Rise and Resist unfurled an “Abolish ICE” banner at the base of the Statue of Liberty. She was seen waving around the group’s shirt before being forcibly taken off the massive statue.