Shia LaBeouf has been arrested at the scene of the LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner art installation, following a disagreement caught on the permanent live stream.
An unofficial Twitter account providing updates on the HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US performance alleges that the police arrived following an altercation with a man who approached the artist and actor and said: “Hitler did nothing wrong”. LaBeouf shoved the man and walked off. The unnamed man says “Hey, why did he attack me?”
“Shia was attacked by a Nazi. Shia got arrested. Nazi got away,” it was tweeted. A video of the live stream shows LaBeouf being handcuffed and led away by authorities. One protester said: “Shia took a hit for us. There were all these Nazis here, he came out and tried to protect us.”
This isn’t the first clash at the art installation, which is staying in place for the four-year-long presidency in Astoria, New York. Earlier in the week, LaBeouf chanted “He will not divide us” in the face of a man in a Nazi cap who said white supremacist slogans on the stream.
Jaden Smith, who joined the performance briefly last week, tweeted in support of LaBeouf – many others have followed with #FreeShia on Twitter.
Footage has shown LaBeouf has now been released by the police and has returned to the site of the project.
Read our feature on why LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner’s non-stop, four-year-long performance piece, HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US, could provide certainty in an increasingly uncertain world, here
