NEW YORK - A Staten Island woman is facing a slew of charges after climbing the Statue of Liberty.
Therese Patricia Okoumou walked out of the Federal Courthouse in Lower Manhattan Thursday.
She pleaded not guilty to trespassing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
Okoumou was arrested on July 4 after climbing up to the base of Lady Liberty in protest of President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Police eventually brought her to safety.
"I think the message was sent. No child belongs in a cage. Children should not be separated from their parents," Okoumou said.
Prosecutors say she engaged in a "dangerous stunt that alarmed the public and endangered her own life and the lives of the NYPD officers."
Okoumou's attorney says she is a naturalized citizen who immigrated from the Congo.
She adds Okoumou was just being true to the words on the Statue of Liberty about accepting "Your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free."
"Our beloved first lady that I care so much about says that when they go low, we go high. And I went as high as I could," Okoumou told reporters.
Close to 40 of her supporters stood outside the courthouse for Okoumou's arraignment.
She faces a maximum of six months in prison on each of those misdemeanor counts, and is due back in court on August 3.