US actress Shailene Woodley has been arrested during a protest in North Dakota against a huge oil pipeline project that will cross four states, BBC informs.

The Divergent star was arrested at a construction site as she was broadcasting the protest, which involved about 200 people, on Facebook.

Police say she was one of 27 people arrested on charges of criminal trespass and engaging in a riot.
The Dakota Access pipeline project has drawn huge protests.

Native Americans have halted its construction in North Dakota, saying it will desecrate sacred land and damage the environment.

In the Facebook Live footage, Ms Woodley, 24, said she had been walking peacefully back to her vehicle when "they grabbed me by my jacket and said that I wasn't allowed to continue... and they have giant guns and batons and zip ties and they are not letting me go".

As she was led away with her hands cuffed, she said she had been singled out from hundreds of other protesters "because I'm well known, because I have 40,000 people watching".

The video spread quickly on social media and by early evening had been viewed more than 2.4 million times.