Actor Wendell Pierce, best known for playing Detective William “Bunk” Moreland on HBO's The Wire and most recently as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in Confirmation, was arrested over the weekend at Atlanta’s Lowes hotel after a political discussion with two other guests got heated, authorities say.
TMZ reports that Pierce became irritated by a woman and her boyfriend’s support of Bernie Sanders. Pierce allegedly pushed the boyfriend and then went after the woman, grabbing her hair and smacking her in the head.
Pierce was arrested without incident on a simple-battery charge and booked into the Fulton County jail before being released on $1,000 bond, officials say.
“The incident did not rise to anything significant, so no special notification was made … it was treated like any other arrest a patrol officer conducts. Mr. Pierce made no indication he was famous; nor did the officer inquire,” Atlanta police said.
Pierce has not commented about the incident.