WASHINGTON, DC — Actress Piper Perabo, a Toms River native, was arrested Tuesday while protesting at the U.S. Senate confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Perabo, who starred in the TV series "Covert Affairs" and also had a starring role in the movie "Coyote Ugly," tweeted a video of herself being removed from the hearing. "I was just arrested for civil disobedience in the Kavanaugh hearings," Perabo tweeted. Perabo, who grew up in Toms River, is a vocal critic of Kavanaugh.

"Many citizens before me have fought for the equal rights of women. I can't be silent when someone is nominated to the Supreme Court who would take our equal rights away," she tweeted. Perabo was among a number of protesters who were removed from the Senate hearings on Tuesday. Opponents of Kavanaugh have repeatedly raised concerns that the 53-year-old nominee will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of laws that restricted a woman's access to abortion. Other protesters at the hearings included a group of women dressed at the female characters in "A Handmaid's Tale," the 1986 Margaret Atwood novel-turned-Netflix series set in a future where lower-class women of child-bearing age are used exclusively to give birth to children for the elite ruling class.

Others oppose the confirmation of Kavanaugh on the grounds that in 1998, Kavanaugh said a sitting president could not be indicted. You can see video from CSPAN of that by clicking here. On Wednesday, Kavanaugh told the Judiciary Committee that he believes no president is above the law and that Roe v. Wade is settled law, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

I was just arrested for civil disobedience in the Kavanaugh hearings. Many citizens before me have fought for the equal rights of women. I can't be silent when someone is nominated to the Supreme Court who would take our equal rights away.#StopKavanaghpic.twitter.com/f3SG7gmVam

— Piper Perabo (@PiperPerabo) September 4, 2018 Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com



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