We could all see this coming.
Shia LaBeouf was arrested during an alleged altercation at the site of his performance art pice title “He Will Not Divide Us” outside New York’s Museum of the Moving Image early Thursday.
The actor allegedly grabbed an unidentified 25-year-old man’s scarf, scratching his face, report both TMZ and the Associated Press. The man refused medical attention. LaBeouf was reportedly released a few hours later.
The project features a camera mounted outside the museum, where passersby are encouraged to say, “He will not divide us,” over and over, as many times as they wish. Although LaBeouf has simply called the project “anti-division,” it began on Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day and is planned to last the duration of Trump’s presidency.
According to a Twitter account calling itself “Unofficial He Will Not Divide Us,” the incident occurred after a man approached the actor and said, “Hitler did nothing wrong,” catching LaBeouf’s response on camera. It’s unclear how the video, which appears to be shot in daylight, was obtained.
The account also posted a clip from the project’s live-stream showing NYPD officers approaching the actor at the museum.
Another video, however, suggests a different event led to the arrest. Posted to YouTube by an anonymous user, it shows LaBeouf approaching a different man and leading him out of the picture.
“He Will Not Divide Us” has attracted plenty of other attention from Trump supporters and neo-Nazis. The actor’s arrest comes just a few days after an aggressive interaction with one disruptor. In a clip posted to the project’s Twitter page, LaBeouf shouts the project’s tagline in the face of a man who appears to reference a white supremacist slogan.
BuzzFeed News has also documented several instances where people who apparently organized on racist internet message boards have interacted with the project. The live-stream has witnessed one man holding a picture of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon associated with white supremacy, and other people holding “Make American Great Again” signs.
The Huffington Post has reached out to LaBeouf’s representation and will update this post accordingly.
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