On Tuesday night, the Statue of Liberty went dark. The lights around the statue were out for a few hours. The National Park Service said that it was an “unplanned” outage, but the internet wasn’t having any of that. There are three theories floating around about why the lights went out:
1. Protest For International Women’s Day?
The Statue of Liberty has gone dark on #InternationalWomensDay? A silent protest from Lady Liberty?#Trump #sexism #IWD2017 pic.twitter.com/sUUA2Rocsm
— Peter Murphy (@PeterWMurphy1) March 8, 2017
International Women’s Day is on Wednesday March 8, 2017. Some people think that Lady Liberty went dark in honor of the day. Today is also the “A Day Without A Woman” protest, so this is the perfect day for a protest from a famous lady.
2. Protest Against Trump’s Travel Ban 2.0?
The Statue of Liberty has gone dark. Russian hacking? Travel ban protest? Regardless of the real reason, this is highly unusual. #Breaking pic.twitter.com/hQMMAvAGxL
— New York Media Boat (@NYmediaBoat) March 8, 2017
Soon after being inaugurated, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming in to the United States. Yesterday, he signed another version of the travel ban. The countries effected are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It bars some people from coming in for up to 90 days.
Many people have used the poem written on the statue in their arguments against the travel ban. It was written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus:
“Give me your tired, your poor/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free./ The wretched refuse of your teeming shore./ Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,/ I lift my lamp beside the golden door!””
3. Did The Russians Hack It?
@morningmika @Morning_Joe Russia hacked "Statue of Liberty" and influenced the electron !#Vault7 pic.twitter.com/bsEjjQTEYW
— ?Joe Messerschmidt?❌ (@160milesperhour) March 8, 2017
Some parts of the internet are saying that it may have been hacked by the Russians. Some people on Twitter said:
Trump confirms statue of liberty lights turned off by OBAMA,
no, FBI,
no hang on, HILLARY,
no um..CIA….DON'T LOOK AT RUSSIA LOOK AT ME!
— Rant Nation (@resist_today) March 8, 2017
Dear America,
The universe is calling You haven't been listening so she upped her game#LightsOut#PauseThisPresidency
Best,#LadyLiberty pic.twitter.com/XXIUkCQ2JX
— Indivisible SanDiego (@SDIndivisible) March 8, 2017
Here is one interesting explanation:
Oops, wait. Lights aren't off on the Statue of Liberty. She's just gone for a stroll. pic.twitter.com/jW6StnO6Un
— Apple Cider Radio: Vote Yes on 2 in Mich (@AppleCiderRadio) March 8, 2017
It really does seem to be a power outage. It just came at an interesting time. The power has been restored now. The National Park service is insisting that the lights on the statue are not used for any type of protest. The lights came back on around midnight this morning.
Featured image via Twitter.