National Park Service police are investigating how activists managed to unfurl a large banner reading “Refugees Welcome” on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday afternoon.

Park police say the banner, measuring about 3 feet by 20 feet, was unfurled just before 1 p.m. Attaching banners to national monuments and the United States is illegal.

A giant ‘Refugees Welcome’ sign was unfurled on the Statue of Liberty today https://t.co/4H0MRIz8pX pic.twitter.com/TUdLAMzcMr — Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 21, 2017

An activist who claims to have participated in placing the banner on the pedestal told Fusion that the idea came about in response to President Trump’s travel ban.

“This was first conceived in response to what’s been called the ‘travel ban’ of the Trump administration, which I think flies in the face of the founding principals of the United States,” he told Fusion.

“I think the Statue of Liberty is our best symbol of the role that immigrants have played and continue to play every day in this country,” he added.

NBC News has also identified a social media account named Alt Statue of Liberty, that has claimed credit for the stunt. A person using the same email told NBC 4 New York, “We have no formal group — just private citizens who felt like we needed to say something about the America we believe in.”

“Refugees Welcome” on Statue of Liberty Statement from people claiming credit: “we needed to say something about the America we believe in” pic.twitter.com/Rs1JJrtl5s — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 21, 2017

The Hill adds:



The Trump administration is expected to unveil a new executive order aimed at preventing terrorism by halting travel from a number of countries, after Trump’s first order was blocked by a federal judge last month. Trump’s initial order signed Jan. 27 temporarily halted entry into the U.S. for nationals from seven predominantly Muslim nations and suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months while indefinitely barring Syrian refugees.

BREAKING: Activists unfurl massive "Refugees Welcome" banner at the base of the Statue of Liberty. #NoBanNoWallNoRaids #TheResistance RT! pic.twitter.com/m8D1VtCdRG — Evan Greer (@evan_greer) February 21, 2017