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Woman Who Climbed To Base Of Statue Of Liberty Arrested

NEW YORK (AP) - A protester who climbed the Statue of Liberty's base has been escorted down by police after a roughly four-hour standoff that forced the evacuation of Liberty Island on the Fourth of July.

After two New York Police Department officers went up to the base and reached her, news helicopter video showed her and the officers moving carefully along the edge of the statue's robes toward a ladder police had set up.

 

She climbed down about 25 feet (8 meters) to the statue's observation point, with another officer descending ahead of her.

Earlier, several people on the statue's pedestal hung a banner emblazoned with a message about abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and were arrested.

The protest group, Rise and Resist, earlier said the climb wasn't connected to the banner demonstration. The group now says the climber was involved in the demonstration but the climb wasn't part of the plan.

News helicopter video showed two New York Police Department officers, attached to tethers, climb up to the base around 6:15 p.m.

As they approached, she initially moved away, took off her shoes and appeared to be starting to climb further.

Then she sat against the statue's foot, and the officers went up to her. They have since put on her shoes and attached a harness to her.

The climber has been there for about three hours, with police talking to her.

Her climb spurred the evacuation of Liberty Island.

Earlier, several people hung a banner emblazoned with a message about abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and were arrested.

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