Therese Okoumou, the activist who scaled the base of the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July, was found guilty on Monday of misdemeanor charges of trespassing, interference with an agency's function, and disorderly conduct.
Okoumou said she was protesting the separation of families at the southern border, and wanted to "send a strong statement that children do not belong in cages." U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein said motivation aside, what Okoumou did was against the law, and if he didn't find her guilty it would "violate the oath of my office."
Okoumou was born in Congo and is a naturalized U.S. citizen living on Staten Island. While leaving the courthouse, she said she is standing "on the right side of history. I am not a bit discouraged today." Her sentencing is scheduled for March 5, and she could receive up to 18 months in prison.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The 7 best police procedurals of all timeThe Week Recommends There’s more to cops and robbers than just nabbing the bad guy at the end of the show
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Navy jet, helicopter crash half-hour apart off carrierSpeed Read A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet both crashed in the same half-hour during separate operations
-
The countries around the world without jury trialsThe Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
