Wendell Pierce, star of HBO’s The Wire, was charged with battery over the weekend after breaking out into a fight with a Bernie Sanders supporter at a hotel in Atlanta.
Pierce, who backs Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential ticket, was allegedly debating a woman and her boyfriend about their support for Sanders around 3:30 a.m. Saturday when the altercation broke out.
The political discussion turned physical after the woman announced she was behind the Vermont senator’s presidential bid. Pierce "became enraged, pushed the boyfriend and then went after his girlfriend…grabbing her hair and smacking her in the head," TMZ reported.
Atlanta police released a statement Monday confirming Pierce’s arrest.
"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," police said.
Pierce is known for his role as Detective William "Bunk" Moreland on The Wire. He also starred as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in HBO’s movie, Confirmation.
He was charged with simple battery and released the same day on a $1,000 bond, according to the Associated Press.
Pierce’s arrest arrived just days before he was set to serve as Rutgers-Newark’s 2016 commencement speaker and receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the college.
"This morning Rutgers University- Newark was informed by actor and humanitarian Wendell Pierce that in order to assure that commencement 2016 will be a celebration of the accomplishments of our students free of distractions, he is declining to join us and consequently must decline the conferral of an honorary degree," Rutgers officials said in a statement Monday.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien will replace the actor as commencement speaker for Wednesday’s ceremony.
Pierce has not yet commented on the altercation.