George Clooney Arrested During Protest

Actor was arrested in Washington, D.C., outside the Sudanese embassy.
By Jocelyn Vena

George Clooney is arrested at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington on Friday
Photo: Colin Drummond/ Splash News

George Clooney was arrested on Friday (March 16) in Washington, D.C., after participating in a protest. The Oscar nominee was taken into custody outside the Sudanese embassy.

According to MSNBC, the group was protesting Sudan's blockage of food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains and aimed to bring attention to the treatment of the people in that area of Sudan. His father, journalist Nick Clooney, was also arrested, according to MSNBC, as well as Martin Luther King III, NAACP President Ben Jealous, Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Jim Moran and former Rep. Tom Andrews.

Clooney and the other protesters knew that, because the embassy is private property, they would be arrested if they refused to move. MSNBC reports that the protesters were warned three times before police moved in. The group reportedly held a sign that read, "Sudan: Stop Weapons of Mass Starvation." He told the large crowd at the protest, "We need immediate humanitarian aid into Sudan before it becomes the worst humanitarian crisis in the world."

He asked "the [Sudanese] government in Khartoum to stop randomly killing its own innocent men, women and children. Stop raping them, and stop starving them."

According to People.com, the group was then taken to a Secret Service van.

"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," Max Milien, spokesman for the Secret Service, told the site, noting that Clooney was being cooperative.

"They were protesting the violence committed by the government of Sudan on its own innocent men, women and children," Clooney's rep said in a statement. "They were demanding they allow humanitarian aid into the country before it becomes the largest humanitarian crisis in the world."

The actor has been trying to bring change to the area, even meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Secretary Hillary Clinton and President Obama in the Oval Office on Thursday. One day before, he attended the White House state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron. He is expected to appear on "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on Friday.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681220/george-clooney-arrested-protest.jhtml

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