Woman scales Statue of Liberty, emergency responders coax her down hours later

UPDATE - July 4, 6:55 p.m.

The woman who scaled the Statue of Liberty Wednesday after a protest against President Trump's immigration policy has been coaxed down by emergency responders. Police worked to escort the woman down for about four hours, according to The Associated Press.

UPDATE - July 4, 6:36 p.m.

Emergency responders have reached the base of the statue where the woman is and are working to bring her down.

UPDATE - July 4, 6:18 p.m.

According to WNBC, a federal source said  that the woman is being uncooperative and is not responding to emergency responders' instructions to get her down from the statue.

Emergency responders are now actively working to get the woman down from the statue, but are working slowly and deliberately in doing so, a New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit source told WNBC.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A woman climbed the Statue of Liberty in New York City during the Fourth of July holiday.

WNBC reported that the woman was seen scaling the statue after an "Abolish ICE" banner was unfurled below the statue. The woman has been sitting at the base of the statue for more than two hours, occasionally pacing back and forth against the statue.

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United States Park Police public information officer Sgt. Dave Somma told WABC Liberty Island was evacuated as a precaution and that the woman made it to the midsection of the statue.

According to live video from WABC, the woman is sitting at the base of the statue, occasionally moving and waving a T-shirt. WNB reported that the shirt read "rise and resist," which is the name of a non-profit activism organization.

WNBC reported that there was an "Abolish ICE" protest earlier in the day. United States Park Police arrested seven people from that rally. The banner and protest was organized by Rise and Resist NYC.

"Rise and Resist was at the Statue of Liberty demanding Trump and the GOP #AbolishICE, reunite families now, halt deportations, and end detention as a deterrent," the group said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

The group has denied any connection to the climber.

"The climber on the Statue of Liberty has no connection to our #abolishice action earlier today," the group said on Twitter.

About forty minutes after the tweet was posted, Rise and Resist protest participant Annette Gaudino told WNBC that the woman who climbed the statue is part of the group, but decided to scale Lady Liberty on her own.

“While the people who were doing the banner were taken and detained by park police, we became aware that there was a climber on the statue,” Gaudino said. “We did not know until just now, just a few minutes ago on the ferry when someone showed us a photo and we were able to confirm that it is a Rise and Resist member who took this action on her own.

“She did not discuss it with anybody beforehand, and we were completely unaware,” she said. “We found this out through the same way everybody else is finding it out, through the news.”

"Rise and Resist planned a banner drop today at the Statue of Liberty," the group said in a Twitter post after Gaudino's interview. "This action did not include the climber on the statue. Our action was completed earlier. While it was not part of our action, our first priority and concern is for the safety of the climber."

WNBC reported that police have brought a ladder to the base of Lady Liberty and are beginning to scale the statue. WABC video shows officers evaluating the situation at the base corridor of the statue and speaking to the woman.