Pair Charged Over Alleged Tampering With and Vandalism of Liberty Bell – 95.7 BEN FM

Pair Charged Over Alleged Tampering With and Vandalism of Liberty Bell  95.7 BEN FM

Two people allegedly targeted and tampered with the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia earlier this year, according to federal prosecutors.CBS News Philadelphia reported that Dawn Hawa, 50, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and Sean Gerlach, 50, of Fairview, North Carolina, are charged with the alleged incidents, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a news release Monday. Prosecutors charged Gerlach with tampering with property in a national park and trespassing. Hawa, who is also known as Dawn Benitez, was charged with vandalism of property in a national park.According to CBS News Philadelphia, prosecutors allege Gerlach and Hawa visited the Liberty Bell within the Independence National Historic Park on May 16. Court documents state that Gerlach jumped over a barrier that surrounds the Liberty Bell and allegedly pushed the bell “with significant force multiple times, causing it to sway back and forth multiple times.”In an interview with FBI agents, Gerlach said he was trying to ring the Liberty Bell, court documents allege.Hawa was with Gerlach at the time and allegedly applied an “oily substance over the barrier toward the Liberty Bell,” court documents state.

The substance allegedly got onto the bell and the surrounding area, court documents allege. The charging documents did not state what the substance was.NBC10 Philadelphia reported the incident was captured on surveillance video.If convicted, Gerlach faces a maximum of one year