Woman convicted of illegally climbing Statue of Liberty in Fourth of July protest

A woman who scaled the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies was convicted on Monday and faces up to 18 months in prison.

The Justice Department announced that Therese Okoumou was convicted in a bench trial for what it deemed a “dangerous stunt.”

“The act of climbing the base of the Statue of Liberty went well beyond peaceable protest, a right we certainly respect,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. “It was a crime that put people at grave risk. 

{mosads}NBC New York reported that Okoumou was convicted of trespassing and other misdemeanor charges. She will be sentenced on March 5.

Okoumou said she scaled the monument to bring attention to the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant families who crossed the border illegally. She told the judge that she could not bear the images of “children in cages,” NBC New York reported.

Law enforcement evacuated the island on July 4 as Okoumou attempted to climb the statue’s pedestal. Her protest led to a roughly three-hour standoff before she was apprehended.