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Shailene Woodley Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Plea Deal — What Does It Mean?

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 12:12 PST, Mar 25, 2017

Divergent actress Shailene Woodley has signed a plea deal regarding her unapologetic participating in last year’s Dakota Access Pipeline protest. Woodley, an outspoken activist who famously and very publicly protested to protect the water rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, was arrested on October 10, 2016, for her efforts. According to Shailene Woodley, she was one of many Dakota Access Pipeline protesters at the scene of her arrest, but the only one taken into custody.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJgAAOZSFjE

Her arrest, which was recorded and broadcast for the world to see, brought worldwide attention to the plight of the Standing Rock Sioux and the danger posed by the Dakota Access Pipeline. As People reports, at the time of her protest arrest, Shailene Woodley was charged with trespassing and engaging in riot. In the aftermath of her arrest, the actress lamented that she wished she would have done more to ensure a memorable mugshot.

Incidentally, the mugshot she did produce went viral almost immediately.

“I wish I’d known that this was going to be as public as it was. I would have made, like, a face. I’m just looking at the person, like, ‘Are you kidding me right now?'”

During her arrest, Shailene personally recorded her legal drama — then handed off her phone to her mom as she was being taken into custody.

Indeed, Shailene Woodley has been such an outspoken advocate for the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and #NoDAPL movement that she personally outed former first daughter Malia Obama when that young lady protested the pipeline in Park City, Utah, earlier this year (just after her presidential pop left office). Malia Obama’s anti-Dakota Access Pipeline efforts were seen by many as throwing serious shade at Trump, who had just signed an executive order approving the controversial project as one of his first acts as POTUS.

When it comes to Shailene Woodley, though, the 25-year-old Big Little Lies actress was potentially facing some serious consequences for her activism actions, and this week she went to court to determine what consequences would arise from her protest actions. Actions that, sadly, seemed to come to naught as the new POTUS has approved the competition of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the U.S. court system has refused to intervene.

https://twitter.com/senseijandre/status/845499997185490944

https://twitter.com/SiobanIrishgirl/status/845440969637974016

As the Bismark Times reports, Woodley appeared in court to address the Dakota Access Pipeline protest charges on Friday. In doing so, Shailene and North Dakota prosecutors have apparently reached a plea agreement that will allow the young starlet to remain out of jail — she has agreed to serve one year of unsupervised probation. She has also pleaded guilty to a Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in the case. However, the charge of participating in a riot has been dropped.

According to online court records obtained by the Bismark Times, Shailene signed a document admitting her guilt with regard to acting in a manner with “intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person or in reckless disregard of the fact that the other person was harassed, annoyed or alarmed” by her behavior. The plea agreement was made just days before Woodley was scheduled to go to trial on the Dakota Access Pipeline protest charges; that trial had been scheduled for March 31.

A request has reportedly been made to de-schedule that pending trial, but neither that request nor Shailene Woodley’s plea agreement had been ruled on by a judge by Friday afternoon.

While Shailene has publicly admitted guilt with regard to charges stemming from her participation in the Dakota Access Pipeline protest, the young actress and activist has not given up her efforts. Admittedly, it appears that the #NoDAPL movement is largely dead, with POTUS Trump ordering that the project could be completed. Even so, Woodley is encouraging fellow protesters and anti-Dakota Access Pipeline activists to continue their protest efforts.

“The front lines don’t necessarily have to be in North Dakota. The front lines can be wherever you are. You can create a protest in New York City, because protests are about awareness and about people coming together.”

At this time, it is unknown when a judge might make an official ruling on the Shailene Woodley Dakota Access Pipeline protest plea agreement.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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