The Statue of Liberty went dark overnight and the timing was just ‘too perfect’ – Washington Post

New Yorkers were left confused late on Mar. 7 when the lights illuminating the Statue of Liberty turned off for more than an hour. (Editor's note: This video has no sound.) (AP)

Formore than an hour Tuesday night, a cloak of darkness covered Lady Liberty. Some of thelights that normally illuminate the statue went off before 11 p.m., leaving only her still-lit torch and crown visible to most in New York Harbor.

As one Twitter postopined, the timing was just too perfect. Definitely, tweeted another, an ominous sign of the times.

The near-blackout of the universal symbol of freedom was invested with great meaning on the Internet, with a consensus settling, more or less, on two interpretations.

Lady Liberty was either protesting President Trump generally and, more specifically, histravel ban just a day after he signed the revised executive order limiting entry to the United States from six Muslim-majority countries.

Or she was signaling her solidarity with #DayWithoutWoman, a strikescheduled for Wednesdaythat asks women to skip work to show the world what life would be like without them.

Give me your tired your poor your huddled masses but later. Were closed, one tweetsaid.Her lights were out because Trump has plunged our country into darkness,said another.

Ive been wondering how long before France asks @realDonaldTrump for the statue of liberty back as he clearly doesnt respect its symbolism, tweeted Jason Rumble.

Perhaps when her lights came back on, her forearm would display a Nevertheless, she persisted, tattoo, another tweetsuggested.Could it be that Lady Liberty one of the nations most recognizable female figures was participating in the Day Without a Woman?

Indeed, Womens March, organizers of A Day Without a Woman, were quick tothank the statue for standing with the resistance and going dark for the event.

Lady Liberty got the memo, the organizers addedin a tweet. Thats ONE MORE woman America CANNOT do without, another Twitter user wrote.

On the other hand, someone else suggested, perhaps Russian hackers were to blame.

Ultimately, the lights came back on at about midnight and the National Park Service, ever the spoiler, explained what might have happened, stressing that crews had not yet inspected the scene to establish a definitive cause.

The park staff suspected theoutage was related to ongoing work on a new emergency backup generator for Liberty Island, according to Jerry Willis, a public affairs officer for the NPS. To activate the generator a replacement for a generator damaged in Hurricane Sandy in 2012 park staff had prepared fora lighting outage later in the week, Willis told The Washington Post.

Willis suspected that a setting on the timer for the lighting system was changed, moving up theoutage.

Willis insisted it was not in any way related to the Day Without a Woman.

We dont use the lighting system to back any particular cause, he said.

Even after the truth came out, the timely quips continued.Comedian Aparna Nancherla tweeted: Apparently the Statue of Liberty lights went out due to a power failure. But I would argue women are also protesting due to a power failure.

Lady Libertys lights last went off for a prolonged period during Hurricane Sandy, when about 75 percent of the islands 12 acres was underwater, causing serious damage that would keep the island closed for eight months for repairs. Although the statue was unscathed,its lights turned off when the island lost electricity. It was later illuminated by temporary floodlights powered by a generator.

In July 2015, a newlight-emitting diode (LED) lightsystem was installed to do the job.

We know how important it is that she stays lit, so we do our very best to keep it that way, Willis said.

He said that given recent news, the symbol of Lady Liberty has been used quite a bit as of late and is at the forefront of a lot of whats going on in the world.

Last month, activists unfurled a banner with the words Refugees Welcome on the statues observation deck after the Department of Homeland Security began implementing Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration. The sign was removed more than an hour later.

The New Yorkers anniversary issue last month featured Libertys Flameout, a cover image of Lady Liberty lifting up an extinguished torch, in response to the opening weeks of the Trump administration.

It used to be that the Statue of Liberty, and her shining torch, was the vision that welcomed new immigrants. And, at the same time, it was the symbol of American values, said the artist, John W. Tomac. Now it seems that we are turning off the light.