Divergent series actress Shailene Woodley was arrested Monday during a protest at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Bismarck, North Dakota. Woodley streamed her arrest on her Facebook page.
“But why am I being arrested and no one else here is?” Woodley asked. “Is it because I’m famous? Is it because people know who I am?” (The officer confirmed that yes, she'd been "identified.")
Woodley posted a $500 bond and was released from Morton County Jail a few hours after she was brought in. She was taken in on charges of criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot—both are misdemeanors that could result in a $1,500 and up to 30 days in jail. In an interview with E! News, Woodley's lawyer said, "She appreciates the outpouring of support, not only for her, but more importantly, for the continued fight against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline."
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been protesting the $3.7 billion, 1,170 mile pipeline because it runs through half a mile of the tribe’s reservation and could contaminate water supplies if the pipeline were to break.
A petition on Change.org titled Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline by Anna Lee, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, states that if the contruction of the Dakota Access Pipeline isn’t stopped, then “it will poison our river and threaten the health of [the] community when it leaks.”
According to the Dakota Access Pipeline’s FAQ page on their website, “Underground pipelines are the safest mode of transporting crude oil.”
On Oct. 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s appeal to block the pipeline. Despite the court’s ruling, Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the tribe, told ABC news that the tribe is “going to continue to fight. We will look at all of our legal options moving forward."
