Vessel forced out of New York ship parade over ‘politically charged’ banners
By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK, July 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard said “politically charged” messages led to the removal of a ship belonging to an environmental group from a fleet of sailing ships gathered in New York on Saturday to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
A ship belonging to the environmental group Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was removed from the Sail4th 250 parade in New York Harbor, the Coast Guard said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The ship had banners reading “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.”
Attendees at the event agreed to refrain from displaying political or politically charged messages or statements, according to the Coast Guard, which said it enforced the agreement on Sail4th’s behalf.
“The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested that the displayed message be removed or removed from the sailboat parade,” the Coast Guard said. “They refused to remove it.”
Jen Benson, director of advocacy and communications for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, disputed the claim. He said the Coast Guard did not want the messages removed, but wanted the ship to abandon its navigational route or risk arrest.
“We don’t think advocating for clean water is a politically charged message,” Benson said. “People across the aisle are fighting in different ways for clean water in the United States.”
Sail4th 250 was one of the events organized by Freedom 250, a group created by the Trump administration to plan the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. More than 40 tall ships from 20 foreign countries participated and traveled across New York Harbor from near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to the George Washington Bridge.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater’s website states that the group’s mission is “to protect the Hudson River by leading an intergenerational community of river advocates through education, advocacy, sailing and music.”
(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Sergio Non and Jamie Freed)
