A protestor from the European anti-patriarchy group Femen was arrested after running topless past Bill Cosby outside of his latest sexual assault trial on Monday. She had "Cosby Rapis[t]," "Women's Lives Matter," and "Femen" scrawled on her body in red paint.
She was identified as Nicolle Rochelle, an actress who had appeared on four episodes of The Cosby Show in the '90s, among other shows. (She played Jessica Ramsey in The Baby-Sitters Club.) A Femen spokesperson later said she was calling attention to the need to call perpetrators of sexual violence accountable, adding that it's the group's "contribution to the global revolt launched by #MeToo."
Police tackled Rochelle to the ground almost immediately after she jumped over a barricade to dart past Cosby in front of the courtroom in Norristown, PA, according to the New York Daily News. She did not make contact with him. The officers handcuffed her and took her into custody, and she was charged with disorderly conduct.
Rochelle was one of several protestors outside the courtroom. Cosby's original trial was in June, but the jury could not come to a unanimous decision about the comedian's guilt or innocence. On Monday, he returned to court for the retrial of his case. He is on trial for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University, in 2004.
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