NEW YORK, July 4 (Reuters) – The \u2060U.S. \u2060Coast Guard said “politically charged” messages \u2060led to the removal of an environmental group’s vessel from \u200ba fleet of sailing ships gathered in New York on Saturday to celebrate the country’s \u200c250th anniversary.<\/p>\n
A ship owned by \u200cthe Hudson River Sloop Clearwater environmental organization was forced out of the Sail4th \u2060250 parade \u2060in New York Harbor, the Coast Guard said in a statement \u200bemailed to Reuters.<\/p>\n
The ship had banners that read, “Save the Clean Water Act” and “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions”.<\/p>\n
Participants in the event had agreed to refrain from displaying political or politically \u200bcharged messages or statements, according to the Coast Guard, which said it enforced \u2060the \u2060agreement on behalf of Sail4th.<\/p>\n
“The \u2060owner of \u200bthe sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed \u200bor be removed from the \u2060parade of sail,” the Coast Guard said. “They declined to remove it.”<\/p>\n
Jen Benson, director of advocacy and communications at Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, disputed the claim. She said the Coast Guard did not ask for the messages to be taken down, but \u2060requested the ship leave the sailing route or risk arrest.<\/p>\n
“We don’t feel like \u2060advocating 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.”<\/p>\n
Sail4th 250 was one of the events organized by Freedom 250, a group created by the Trump administration to plan celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary. More than 40 tall ships from 20 foreign countries participated, traveling through New \u2060York Harbor from near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, up to the George Washington Bridge.<\/p>\n
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater’s website says the group’s mission is to “protect the Hudson River by stewarding an intergenerational community of river advocates through education, \u200badvocacy, sailing, and music.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; \u200bEditing by Sergio Non and Jamie Freed)<\/p>\n
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