Cole Sprouse, who stars as Jughead in the CW’s popular Riverdale series, was arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest in San Francisco.
The 27-year-old actor was part of a group of protesters who were gathered on Broadway in downtown Santa Monica, holding signs decrying the death of George Floyd and chanting “I can’t breathe.”
He took to his official Instagram page to share the experience of his arrest.
Cole Sprouse wrote: “A group of peaceful protesters, myself included, were arrested yesterday in Santa Monica. So before the voracious horde of media sensationalism decides to somehow turn it about me, there’s a clear need to speak about the circumstances: Black Lives Matter. Peace, riots, looting, are an absolutely legitimate form of protest. The media is by nature only going to show the most sensational, which only proves a long standing racist agenda.”
He then described how he was detained “when standing in solidarity” and was given the option to leave or face arrest. He was among protesters who decided to leave, but they “found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us.”
He added: “It needs to be stated that as a straight white man, and a public figure, the institutional consequences of my detainment are nothing in comparison to others within the movement,
“This is, and will be, a time about standing ground near others as a situation escalates, providing educated support, demonstrating and doing the right thing,” he added while informing his followers that he would be sharing links where people could donate their money and support.
“This is precisely the time to contemplate what it means to stand as an ally. I hope others in my position do as well. I noticed that there are cameras that roll within the police cruisers during the entirety of our detainment, hope it helps.”
Read also: George Floyd: Mob attacks Trump supporter over MAGA hat
David Brown, another protester who was also arrested and put in the same holding cell as Cole Sprouse, said they were held for about 90 minutes, charged with a misdemeanor count of violating curfew, and then freed.