Statue of Liberty Climber Therese Okoumou Says She Took Michelle Obama's Advice and 'Went as High as I Could'

Therese Patricia Okoumou, who was arrested yesterday, July 4, after heroically climbing and occupying the base of the Statue of Liberty, gave a press conference outside a Manhattan court on Thursday. She had just exited the courthouse after pleading not guilty to charges of federal misdemeanor trespassing, interference with government agency functions, and disorderly conduct, CBS reports. Okoumou, 44, is a naturalized United States citizen who emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994.

Okoumou and NYPD officers responding to the scene on Wednesday remained in a standoff for three hours, ending with cops following in her footsteps and pulling her down off the statue. Earlier that day, Okoumou had joined in with fellow Rise and Resist members who hung a banner from the statue proclaiming “Abolish I.C.E.” to protest the administration’s unjust immigration policies. Okoumou apparently climbed the statue in a continuation of the protest (Rise and Resist has said that her “decision to climb the statue was made independently of the group”). Okoumou said she would not come down until “all the children are released.”