Joaquin Phoenix Has Been Arrested During Jane Fonda’s Latest Climate Change Protest On Capitol Hill

Jane Fonda’s weekly climate change protests have attracted quite the assortment of Hollywood figures, including Ted Danson and Sam Waterton, who have all been willing to be arrested to draw attention to climate change. This week, Fonda found herself marching on Capitol Hill next to recent Golden Globe winner Joaquin Phoenix, who Fonda claims that she didn’t personally invite but “came of his own volition!” He recently (and shambolically) praised the HFPA for offering vegan cuisine at their fancy ceremony. In the process, he also asked his fellow actors to stop taking private jets to film festivals, and he made his points again in D.C. on Friday.

“I struggle so much with what I can do [to fight climate change] at times,” he said in this video tweeted by The Hill. “There are things that I can’t avoid — I flew a plane out here today, or last night rather. But one thing that I can do is change my eating habits.”

— The Hill (@thehill) January 10, 2020

Phoenix’s general argument is that the mass adoption of a vegan diet would help ease environmental woes, but he was warned (as were all activists) to disperse from the area, which they apparently refused to do. TMZ was among the first to report that Phoenix, soon after making this speech, came under arrest by D.C. police. Martin Sheen, who has played a few U.S. presidents (fictional and otherwise, in The West Wing and a Kennedy miniseries), got nabbed as well. Deadline then confirmed the news.

Prior to this development, the Washington Post‘s Hannah Jewell posted some photos and videos while quipping that “the joker is going to be arrested on the steps of the capitol.” As far as anyone’s aware, Phoenix did not do Arthur Fleck’s dance at any point prior to his arrest. That’s for the best, probably

— Hannah Jewell (@hcjewell) January 10, 2020

It’s the last #FireDrillFriday and Jane Fonda has brought her pals to the biggest civil disobedience action at the capitol yet…I spy @NaomiAKlein and Joaquin Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/hHqFejgtkp

— Hannah Jewell (@hcjewell) January 10, 2020

my phone camera is terrible but here he is folks, the joker himself, have not seen him do any steps-dancing as of 1:02pm pic.twitter.com/1KRIeACenl

— Hannah Jewell (@hcjewell) January 10, 2020