Clooney arrested: why exactly?

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Neither the international nor the Hungarian media seems to give me answer (the latter one, obviously, just takes the news from the first one).

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/16/us/washington-clooney-arrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

They all mention that the police warned them 3 times (IIRC) and then arrested them.

Is it forbidden to protest at an Embassy?

Was it a non-permitted protest?

In Hungary, you need to submit your request to use the place for protest, and then the police gives you permission to use the place (unless it's already reserved by someone or has other legal reason to be rejected). Isn't the same possible in the US? If it is, then was this anti-Sudan protest a spontaneous one, and that is why they were arrested? Why did the policeman have the right to stop it?

Update: OK, I see some crossed "police line". Does this mean he/they entered a forbidden area near the embassy? (Until know, I thought a police line is not used near embassies, it is used by police only e.g. at crime scenes, accidents, or any other place what the police wants to secure from outsiders).

 

My guess is that the grounds of the embassy became a place the police wanted to secure from outsiders due to security concerns after the crowd formed.

 

Aren't the grounds of an embassy technically part of the country of the embassy? I figure that would have something to do with it, too.....

 

I thought they didn't enter the area of the embassy, but then I probably overlooked it when reading the article.

 

Too damn handsome.

 

I would suggest that it was intentional, he contacted his army of lawyers before hand and asked, "hey, whats the worst that can happen to me if I cross a protest line and get arrested for a breach of the peace?", to which they replied "'bout $100", George after triple checking his bank balance decided that he could afford this, realising that this protest needed somthing high profile to actually "make the world watch" (and get him some publicity) he got himself arrested.

 

Not that I was worried about him... or that I took seriously this "arrest" in terms of its consequences. Nonetheless, if the policeman had been violent with me when putting the handcuff, he wouldn't have got away with it... In Hungary, they didn't put any handcuff (youtube) to our former prime minister Gyurcsany when he played a martyr in an unpermitted protest It's funny when they put one to Clooney. But equality is equality after all, and I guess using a handcuff is mandatory for the policeman in the US (if I recall correctly).

 

It is in many countries, in the UK the arrested must be placed in cuffs to prevent escape or the risk of harm to officers, the arrested or damage to property. The officers in this situation were using zip cuffs, which are small light cuffs which work in a similar way to cable ties, they're strapped on, pulled tight and cut off later, these types of cuff are normally deployed where an officer may be expected to detain several individuals and as such normal cuffs would be too bulky.... could suggest that the officers may have been previously informed that the protest intended to cross the line.

 

Of course, we should be asking what Matt Damon and Brad Pitt were doing at the time and if there's anything highly valuable the Sudanese embassy is currently missing...

 

What the.... evidently Clooney was arrested for abducting Arabwel. Haven't heard from you in a long time. Nice to see you!

 

Ludicrous. It doesn't. Police have these as part of their standard gear at football matches and demonstrations or other mass events - everything that, if it goes sour, may require a larger number of arrests, also they are more practical than traditional hand cuffs, as there is no key that cold be lost. That alone makes the processing of arrestees far easier. It is simply an SOP, and not indicative of the police having any reason to assume intent to 'cross the line'.

The point that Clooney was arrested and probably booked also is not indicative of seriousness or crime but also simply of the American SOP to book anybody for anything.

Ara,
excellent observation. Quite obviously, it was a plot.

 

Strange, Ive been to many football and rugby games in the UK and Ive never seen officers carrying zip cuffs, the only time I've ever seen them is when TAG are deployed to quell a riot. They arent widely deployed in the UK especially at football matches because if an arrested individual has great strength or is under the influence of a substance they can break free from the cuffs, they can also easily be cut off or broken off with a lighter. Maybe the germans are deploying them because they're cheap. We've had many protests in the UK lately, none of the officers policing the marches against University fees in swansea had zipcuffs none of the officers policing the PCS marches had zipcuffs.