James Cromwell, 77, who is perhaps best known for his role as the farmer in Babe, the iconic animal film, is one of the least likely suspects to earn jail time, but the actor has just been sentenced to seven days in an Orange County penitentiary.
James Cromwell has been found guilty of refusing to pay $375 in fines he owes to the state after staging a sit-in in Wawayanda, New York. He and six other people were protesting the construction of a natural gas power plant and its harmful emissions in 2015. He was asked to pay $250 at the time for obstructing traffic, but he stated that he felt as though doing so meant he was giving in to the powers that be.
He was also asked to pay an additional $125, again, which he refuses to do because he does not feel as though he has done anything wrong or that the people will be listened to if they continue to acquiesce to the judicial system.
James Cromwell was also arrested last year for protesting the building of an underground gas facility. He has also been thrown out of a hotel for disturbing the award ceremony of the same company he was protesting in New York.
Following an appeal, three of the defendants will have until July 14 to pay their $375 fine, but it is unclear if they will do so. If they follow James’ lead, they may be following him to a short stint in jail.
This, however, doesn’t seem to bother the actor, who was also politically active in the 1970s. He joined a group that helped defend the Black Panthers. Based on the fact that he was previously arrested in 2016, he is clearly not afraid of a little jail time.
Although he is still very politically active and clearly not afraid to go to jail for his beliefs, the actor is still busy with his entertainment career. He is set to star in the Jurassic World sequel, Fallen Kingdom, which is slated for a July 2018 release date.
There is no word on whether his seven-day trip to the clink will affect the filming of the movie.
[Featured Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]