Actor Shia LaBeouf arrested after assaulting onlooker at anti-Trump protest

Marcy Oster
Published January 26, 2017

(JTA) — Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested and later released in New York City after getting into an altercation with an onlooker at an anti-Trump protest.

The arrest was captured early Thursday morning on a live stream of LeBeouf’s “He will not divide us” protest.  The protest, which has been ongoing since last Friday, is a public-art project that is slated to continue throughout Donald Trump’s presidency. It takes place in front of the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Members of the public are invited to come stand in front of the camera and recite the phrase “he will not divide us.

La Beouf, who is Jewish, grabbed at the scarf of the onlooker, 25, scratching his face. He then pushed the man to the ground, police told local media. The man reportedly said: “Hitler did nothing wrong.” The actor was arrested at about 12:30 Thursday morning on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and harassment. The victim did not require medical treatment.

He was released from a Queens police station about three hours later, the New York Post’s Page Six reported. The live stream continued after his release.