US Coast Guard removes vessel with eco banners from Sail4th 250 parade, citing political message violations, sparking debate on free expression.
The US Coast Guard forced an environmental group's ship out of the Sail4th 250 parade in New York Harbor after it displayed banners deemed 'politically charged,' reported Reuters.
The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater carried signs reading 'Save the Clean Water Act' and 'Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.' The Coast Guard stated that participants had agreed not to show political messages and that the group declined to remove them.
Jen Benson, advocacy director at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, disputed this account, claiming that the Coast Guard never asked for the banners to be taken down but instead ordered the vessel off the route or face arrest. She argued that clean water advocacy was not political.
The parade was part of Sail4th 250, organized by Freedom 250, a group established by the Trump administration to mark the nation's 250th anniversary. More than 40 tall ships from 20 countries sailed from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to the George Washington Bridge.
Clearwater's website states that its mission is to protect the Hudson River by building a community of advocates through education, sailing, music, and activism. The group asserted that its removal highlighted tensions over free expression during the anniversary celebrations.
