NEW YORK — The U.S. Coast Guard removed an environmental organization’s ship from a July 4th sailing celebration in New York Harbor on Saturday, citing banners it described as “politically charged” during an event marking the nation’s 250th birthday.
The vessel, belonging to the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization, was expelled from the Sail4th 250 parade after it displayed banners reading “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.”
According to the Coast Guard, all participants in the event had agreed beforehand not to display political or politically charged messages. The Coast Guard said it enforced that agreement on behalf of Sail4th.
“The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “They declined to remove it.”
However, Jen Benson, the director of advocacy and communications at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, told a different story. She said the Coast Guard never asked the group to take down the banners — instead, officials told the ship to leave the sailing route or face arrest.
“We don’t feel like advocating for clean water is a politically charged message,” Benson said. “People on all sides of the aisle, and no sides at all, have been fighting in the United States for clean water in different ways.”
The Sail4th 250 event was part of a broader series of celebrations organized by Freedom 250, a group established by the Trump administration to coordinate events marking the country’s 250th anniversary. The parade featured more than 40 tall ships from 20 different countries, sailing through New York Harbor from near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, all the way up to the George Washington Bridge.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater describes its mission on its website as working to “protect the Hudson River by stewarding an intergenerational community of river advocates through education, advocacy, sailing, and music.”
