George Clooney was arrested Friday after participating in a protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C. The Hollywood actor was cuffed with zip-ties and taken away in a Secret Service van while protesting against Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir.
The actor claims Bashir’s policy of blocking critical humanitarian aide to Sudan will bring about the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. He expected to get arrested at the Friday protest in order to bring attention to his cause.
Authorities warned the star three times to leave before taking him into custody. While being carted off to jail, Clooney said, “This is for the government in Khartoum to stop randomly killing its own innocent men, women and children. Stop raping them and stop starving them. That’s all we ask.”
Clooney was not the only protestor rounded up and slapped with a fine for civil disobedience on Friday. His father, journalist Nick Clooney, as well as U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (Dem.) of Virginia; NAACP President Ben Jealous and many others, were also taken away in the Secret Service van.
PEOPLE reported that Max Milien, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said Clooney was being cooperative. “He’s being charged currently with disorderly crossing of a police line, which is a misdemeanor and he will be transported to the second district of the Metropolitan Police Department for processing,” Milien added.
Clooney was eventually released this afternoon.
