George Clooney Released from Jail
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Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — After spending the morning in a D.C. jail for civil disobedience in a protest outside of Sudan’s embassy, actor George Clooney paid $100 and was released Friday afternoon.
Police Friday morning cuffed Clooney, along with his father as he led a protest calling on Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, an alleged war-criminal, to stop the violence and allow humanitarian aid into the country.
Hoping to draw attention to the violence Al-Bashir has allegedly directed at his own people, Clooney made the rounds in Washington this week, testifying at a Senate hearing and holding meetings with the Secretary of State and President Obama to discuss the urgency of Sudan’s humanitarian issue.
Following his arrest, Clooney’s publicist released a statement, saying, “They were protesting the violence committed by the government of Sudan on its own innocent men, women and children. They were demanding they allow humanitarian aid into the country before it becomes the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.”
The Hollywood actor has been working with John Prendergast from the advocacy group The Enough Project for years. He co-founded the Sudan Sentinel Project, which tracks human rights abuses on the border of Sudan and South Sudan using satellite cameras.
Clooney told reporters, following his release, that while one never really knows if they are accomplishing anything, he just wanted to bring attention to an important moment. He also chatted briefly with ABC News’ Jon Karl:
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