Lucy Lawless Facing Burglary Charges After Arrest for Shell Oil Protest
Celebrity

The 'Spartacus: Vengeance' actress has been released from police custody after she and fellow Greenpeace environmental activists were arrested in New Zealand on Monday, February 27.

AceShowbiz - Lucy Lawless landed in hot water with the law for taking part in a Greenpeace protest aboard Shell oil exploration ship, the Noble Discoverer, at Port Taranaki, New Zealand. The actress playing Lucretia on "Spartacus: Vengeance" is facing burglary charges after she, along with five other environmental activists, was arrested on Monday, February 26.

The 43-year-old actress and six other activists climbed a 174-foot drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer last Friday, February 24 as they tried to prevent the ship from leaving the port and raise awareness about oil drilling in the Arctic. On Saturday, one of them left the tower and was initially charged with unlawfully boarding a ship.

The rest of the group, including Lawless, didn't leave the tower until police removed them from the spot on Monday. Upon their release later that day, the former star of "Xena: Warrior Princess" told Taranaki Daily News, "When we started this seven of us went up the rig but 133,000 came down with us in solidarity."

The actress, who is now due to appear in a New Zealand court Thursday, March 1, continued on saying, "They're writing letters and we know that new heros are going to spring up in our fervent mission to make sure the oil industry becomes an energy industry is one that is renewable and clean."

Back on Friday, Lawless explained to The Associated Press why she joined the protest. "I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment," she stated. "We need to stand up while we still can."

Following the arrest, Rob Jager, Chairman of Shell New Zealand, said in a statement that he was pleased the protest was over, reasoning that it put people in danger. Shona Geary, a spokeswoman for Shell, additionally suggested that the Noble Discoverer is likely to leave the port within the next few days.

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