George Clooney & Dad ARRESTED During Protest

Clooney and his dad were arrested for crossing a police line ... which is a misdemeanor offense. Father and son were arrested by the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service ... but he's currently being booked into a D.C. police station. 0314_divider_graphic George Clooney and his father Nick have been arrested in Washington, D.C. during a protest over the Sudan crisis. Clooney was leading a protest in front of the Sudanese embassy in D.C. when he was hauled away by secret service agents.

Clooney's publicist Stan Rosenfield tells TMZ, "They were protesting the violence committed by the government of Sudan on its own innocent men, women and children. They were demanding they allow humanitarian aid into the country before it becomes the largest humanitarian crisis in the world." Sources connected with George tell us he feels good about the arrest because it puts the spotlight on the crisis. Moments before the arrest, George was mobbed by reporters (below) -- claiming, he was protesting to raise awareness about the "Sudanese government committing atrocities on their own people."