Statue Of Liberty Protester's Trial Set For November Start

NEW YORK — The Staten Island protester who scaled the Statue of Liberty on Independence Day is set to face a federal trial this fall. A Nov. 5 start date for Therese Patricia Okoumou's trial on three misdemeanor charges was set at a Tuesday hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Okoumou was arrested July 4 after climbing Lady Liberty's base in a protest against the Trump administration's separation of immigrant families. She has pleaded not guilty to trespassing, interference with government agency functions and disorderly conduct.

Okoumou's lawyer, Ron Kuby, said she should be tried by a jury rather than only a magistrate judge partly because she faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted of all three charges.

"It would be particularly appropriate in this case not just because of the gravity of the punishment, but because Ms. Okoumou’s acts were profound acts of conscience and the jury system serves as the conscience of the community," Kuby said at a rally after Tuesday's hearing.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed the start date for Okoumou's trial but declined to comment on whether she should be tried by a jury.

Kuby had asked a judge in the case to decide in advance whether he intended to impose a jail sentence in the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein declined to do so in an Aug. 17 order.

Okoumou, an immigrant who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, has remained defiant since her spur-of-the-moment protest thrust her into the national spotlight. Discussions about a plea deal in the case "never got off the ground," Kuby said.

Wearing a headband emblazoned with the word "SHERO" and a long red tie — reportedly a reference to President Donald Trump's sartorial choices — Okoumou called on U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman to drop the charges against her "because I spread the message of mercy and compassion for the children locked in cages."

An online petition asking Berman, who was initially appointed by the Trump administration, to do just that had more than 5,000 signatures as of Tuesday.

"We are facing crimes against humanity," Okoumou, 44, said Tuesday. "We are facing a humanitarian crisis."

While Okoumou has cast her climb as a powerful act of civil disobedience, Berman has called it a "dangerous stunt." Tourists were reportedly evacuated from Liberty Island because of the incident.

(Lead image: Therese Patricia Okoumou appears outside Manhattan federal court on July 5 after her Independence Day protest. Photo by Noah Manskar/Patch)