In 2001, Piper Perabo was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Yesterday, she was arrested.

Actor Piper Perabo arrested, the headlines read today. For many, it’s a name that harks back to 2001 and the major box office success Coyote Ugly in which she starred.

But this is no tragic Hollywood story, there’s been no ‘fall from grace’ or downward spiral.

Today, the 41-year-old was hauled out of a courtroom by officers from Washington D.C.’s Capitol Police for attempting to protect the rights of American women.

“I was just arrested for civil disobedience at the Kavanaugh hearings,” she tweeted overnight.

“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.”

Perabo was one of 70 arrested and charged for protesting the opening day of confirmation hearings for judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The conservative judge is President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the vacant spot on the bench of the country’s already right-leaning Supreme Court. But critics argue that if the 53-year-old assumes the life-long role, he poses a threat to abortion rights, LGBTQI rights, access to healthcare, and gun control.

Piper Perabo also took issue with his views on Presidential powers; chiefly his previous criticism of independent counsel investigations against a sitting leader. (Kind of like the one Trump is currently facing over his campaign’s potential co-ordination with Russia to influence the 2016 election.)

“I disrupted the Senate Kavanaugh hearings this morning because Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in a felony criminal investigation & shouldn’t be allowed to nominate a Justice, til that is resolved [sic],” she tweeted. “Esp Kavanaugh who believes a President is above the law.”

It’s believed Perabo was charged and released.

This morning I was arrested with women from @womensmarch @CPDAction @lsarsour @jeppsaddison @HeidiSpeaks @woodra @WaywardWinifred. Proud to stand with them, and stand up for equal rights. #StopKavanaugh #BrettBye https://t.co/udURRL5vH5

— Piper Perabo (@PiperPerabo) September 4, 2018

Leveraging her profile over the past decade or so, Perabo has been a vocal advocate for women’s and LGBTQI rights, and serves on the advisory board for VoteRunLead – an American not-for-profit organisation that helps train women to run for public office.

But she’s been active in Hollywood, too. In 2012, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her starring role in spy series Covert Affairs, which had a five-season run that ended in 2014. Her next major turn on television began and ended in 2016, with five episodes of cancelled drama Notorious.

On the big screen, she had roles in the likes of family comedies Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), as well as thrillers The Prestige (2006) and Looper (2012).

She’s next due to appear opposite Morgan Freeman action film Angel Has Fallen, which is slated for release in 2019.