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Jane Fonda taken into custody at climate crisis protest in Washington

Posted at 5:56 PM, Oct 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-11 17:56:27-04

(CNN) — Jane Fonda was taken into police custody Friday in Washington, DC, while participating in a climate crisis demonstration.

The incident comes as the actress and activist launched her “Fire Drill Fridays” campaign, a civil disobedience effort to raise awareness of environmental challenges.

“The United States Capitol Police arrested 16 individuals for unlawfully demonstrating on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol,” Eva Malecki, spokeswoman for the Capitol police told CNN.

All were charged with “crowding, obstructing or incommoding,” she said.

While Malecki did not confirm Fonda was among those arrested, Fonda’s campaign shared an image of her being taken into custody.

Additional witnesses shared video on social media.

CNN has contacted Fonda’s representatives for comment.

In a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, Fonda said she was inspired to act by environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

“She read the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report and she realized that the crisis was barreling straight at us, like a train, and looked around and people weren’t behaving appropriately. It so traumatized her that she stopped eating. I hadn’t realized that she stopped eating and speaking for almost a year. And that really hit me,” Fonda said.

She also told the publication that she was hoping to get arrested in her advocacy work.