Tourists have been evacuated from Liberty Island in New York after a woman climbed up on to the Statue of Liberty and sat at the monument's base.
Police talk to a woman who climbed to the base of the Statue of Liberty. Photo: AFP
Police took the woman into custody after three hours of trying to coax her down via a ladder that had been secured to the statue's pedestal.
Eyewitnesses posted images and footage on social media showing the woman scaling the structure on Wednesday.
Earlier, several people were arrested after holding a protest at the statue.
The protesters were detained after unveiling an "Abolish Ice" banner on the statue's pedestal.
Later, National Park Service police and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) were called to the scene shortly after reports of an individual climbing the monument.
One eyewitness, Eric Kwasi Oppongto, posted a short video of the incident on Twitter which he said involved an individual with a T-shirt emblazoned with "Trump care makes me sick" and "Rise and Resist".
Guy climbing statue of liberty @CNN #July4th #FourthofJuly pic.twitter.com/bJA5rMexKg
— eric kwasi oppong (@ekojnr) July 4, 2018
Another user, Sarah, said the island was being "evacuated of all tourists".
Still there. A ladder has appeared #statueofliberty pic.twitter.com/n03QxDVqZC
— Sarah Melv (@sarah_eyebrows) July 4, 2018
It is not yet clear exactly why the woman scaled the structure.
The earlier demonstration involving the "Abolish Ice" slogan is linked to a long-running protest against the government's Immigration and Customs Enforcement body, the agency responsible for identifying and removing undocumented immigrants throughout the US.
Demonstrations have recently taken place across the US after it emerged that Ice agents had separated thousands of young children from parents who had entered the US illegally.
Wednesday's incidents took place on the US independence holiday 4 July.
In February last year, protesters hung a giant "Refugees Welcome" banner across the Liberty statue's observation deck.
Attaching items to the national monument, a symbol of American acceptance of immigrants, is strictly prohibited, according to the state's National Park Service police.
- BBC
