Why Did Shia LaBeouf Get Arrested in NOLA? What Police Say Happened

Actor Shia LaBeouf is no stranger to controversy or legal trouble. On Feb. 17, the Megalopolis star landed in handcuffs in New Orleans during Mardi Gras after police said a late-night disturbance turned physical outside a French Quarter business.

According to TMZ, officers arrested Shia after he allegedly punched two men. The incident immediately reignited conversation about his past run-ins with the law, as fans question what’s really going on with Shia.

New Orleans police said the incident unfolded around 12:45 a.m. Officers responded to a business near the French Quarter after reports that Shia was causing a disturbance. After staff removed him from the establishment, he allegedly hit a man multiple times with closed fists. Then, police said he left the area, but returned and continued acting aggressively. Bystanders tried to restrain him and released him in hopes he would leave. Instead, police said he struck the same man again and punched another man in the nose.

Officers took LaBeouf to a hospital for treatment of “unknown injuries.” After his release, they arrested him, according to WHDH. Police charged him with two counts of simple battery, but he appears to be doing OK. Hours after the incident, Shia jokingly posted "Free me" on X.

The NOLA incident is far from Shia’s first run-in with the law. In 2017, police arrested him in Savannah, Ga., on charges that included disorderly conduct and public intoxication. After that arrest, LaBeouf posted a public apology and said he planned to get help.

“I am deeply ashamed of my behavior and make no excuses for it,” he wrote on X, per People. “I don’t know if these statements are too frequent, or not shared often enough, but I am certain that my actions warrant a very sincere apology to the arresting officers, and I am grateful for their restraint. The severity of my behavior is not lost on me.”

Shia’s full rap sheet goes back a few years. In 2014, police arrested the actor during a performance of Cabaret on Broadway in New York. According to ABC News, authorities charged him with disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing after he reportedly disrupted the show. A year later, in 2015, Austin police arrested him for public intoxication in the city’s entertainment district. Then in 2017, he faced another incident in New York connected to his “He Will Not Divide Us” protest project. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the assault charge in that case, according to the BBC.

Shia has been open about the struggles he is facing, describing bouts with addiction and mental health challenges. In a 2018 interview with Esquire, he talked about enrolling in court-mandated rehab and what he learned about himself afterward.

“I need to take ownership of my s**t and clean up my side of the street a bit before I can go out there and work again, so I’m trying to stay creative and learn from my mistakes,” the actor said. “I’ve been falling forward for a long time. Most of my life. The truth is, in my desperation, I lost the plot.”