Cole Sprouse says he was arrested in Santa Monica, California, over the weekend for protesting the fatal arrest of George Floyd.
The Riverdale star took to Instagram on Monday to detail what happened, telling his fans that he and "a group of peaceful protestors" were detained one night prior.
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"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 wrote. "I was detained when standing in solidarity, as were many of the final vanguard within Santa Monica. We were given the option to leave, and were informed that if we did not retreat, we would be arrested. When many did turn to leave, we found another line of police officers blocking our route, at which point, they started zip tying us."
"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 ABSOLUTELY not a narrative about me, and I hope the media doesn't make it such," he added. "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. This is precisely the time to contemplate what it means to stand as an ally."
Sprouse continued on, telling his followers that he hopes others in his position will do the same.
"I noticed that there are cameras that roll within the police cruisers during the entirety of our detainment, hope it helps. I'll speak no more on the subject, as I'm (1) not well versed enough to do so, (2) not the subject of the movement, and (3) uninterested in drawing attention away from the leaders of the #BLM movement," he shared. "I will be, again, posting the link in my story to a comprehensive document for donations and support."
Sprouse then took to his Stories to share a Google doc titled "Resources for Accountability and Actions for Black Lives," which includes information on everything from petitions, to groups to donate to and more.
Earlier Monday, Floyd's younger brother, Terrence, called for "positive change" while speaking about the ongoing nationwide protests to Good Morning America'sRobin Roberts.
While the majority of the protests have been peaceful, many have been overshadowed by the groups of people who are looting and vandalizing their communities. Terrence said he hopes this won't take away from the real cause, which is the call for justice.
"Yes, I do feel like it's overshadowing what's going on because, like I said, he was about peace, he was about unity. The things that are transpiring now, they may call it unity, but it's destructive unity," he explained. "It's not what he was about. That's not what my brother was about."
"It's OK to be angry, but channel your anger to do something positive or make a change another way because we've been down this road already," he continued. "He would want us to seek justice the way we are, the way we're trying to do [it], but channel it another way. The anger, damaging your hometown, it's not the way he'd want."
Hear more in the video below.
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