Patricia Okoumou, the women who climbed the Statue of Liberty in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, today appeared in court after her arrest in Austin, Texas last month where she climbed on a building which houses immigrant children separated from their parents. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein ruled that Okoumou has to wear an ankle monitor and also ordered home detention until her sentencing date on March 19.
After climbing the Southwest Detention Center in Austin, Ms. Okoumou put up a banner with the words “Abolish ICE” and refused to come down for hours. Manhattan federal prosecutors considered this a violation of her bail and requested jail time until her sentencing on March 19.
Her lawyer, Mr. Ron Kuby argued that Ms. Okoumou is not a threat to the community and that her actions are not related to a drug problem but because of her “serious problem with injustice.” Judge Gorenstein responded that from his perspective, “she may have a climbing problem.”
After the court date, her lawyer said that home detention was a preferable outcome. Ms. Okoumou still faces the possibility of jail time at her sentencing hearing on March 19.
