Say what you will about Shailene Woodley, the actress definitely puts her money where her mouth is with regard to her political beliefs.
The Divergent star was arrested in Morton County, North Dakota today while peacefully protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The official charge against Woodley is criminal trespassing, but many are wondering if she wasn’t taken into custody due to the fact that her celebrity status brought added media attention to the controversy surrounding the pipeline.
Woodley videotaped her arrest, and many believe her interaction with police proves that she was unfairly targeted.
In the footage below, Woodley tells the camera that she was complying with the officers orders when she was arrested without cause.
“I don’t know if you guys just heard me, but I was walking back to my RV, which is right there so that we can go back to camp peacefully and they grabbed me by my jacket and said that I was not allowed to continue,” Woodley calmly stated.
“They grabbed me by my jacket and said I wasn’t allowed to continue,” she added.
“They had giant guns and batons and zip ties and they’re not letting me go.”
Addressing the officers directly, Woodley asked:
“Why am i being arrested and no one else is?” a defiant Woodley asks one of the officers.
“Is it because I’m famous?”
Woodley maintains that she was peacefully walking back to her RV in order to return to a nearby campsite when she was apprehended.
“Because I was trespassing like everyone. As soon as you guys asked me to leave, I l left. She was down there, everybody was down there,” she tells the officers at one point.
“I’m being arrested. I was down there with everybody else. I don’t know what’s going on? As soon as they came I left… it’s because I’m well known. It’s because I have 40,000 people watching.”
Woodley concludes her video message by addressing the media directly:
“So everybody knows…we were going to our vehicle which they had all surrounded and waiting for me with giant guns and a giant truck behind them just so they could arrest me. I hope you’re watching mainstream media.”
This is far from the first time that Woodley’s political beliefs have sparked controversy, and we’re sure it won’t be the last.
We’ll have further updates on this story as more information becomes available.