Ansel Elgort defends Shailene Woodley after trespassing arrest

Actors Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley. Photo / Getty Images

Ansel Elgort as spoken out in defence of Shailene Woodley following her arrest.

The 24-year-old actress was arrested on after she was caught trespassing on the construction site for the Dakota Access Pipeline during a peaceful protest against proposed plans to transport crude oil.

A Morton County Sheriff's deputy officer arrests actress Shailene Woodley at a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo / AP

Now, her The Fault in Our Stars co-star Ansel has spoken out in her defence, urging his Twitter followers to read about the cause she was fighting for.

Alongside a link to a news article about the pipeline plans, the 22-year-old actor wrote: "SHAI WAS ARRESTED TODAY for protesting the North Dakota Pipeline. Read about what she was protesting here (sic)"

SHAI WAS ARRESTED TODAY for protesting the North Dakota Pipeline. Read about what she was protesting here💔 https://t.co/wCuQaaYRmJ

— Ansel (@AnselElgort) October 10, 2016

Writer of The Fault in Our Stars novel John Green also took to Twitter to show his support for the star, saying he "deeply admires" her.

Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort starred together in the movie The Fault in Our Stars.

He said: "@ShaileneWoodley walks the walk, and I deeply admire her determined and passionate activism. (sic)"

Meanwhile, Maggie Q posted a news article about the arrest with the caption: "You can arrest someone but you CANNOT silence them... (sic)"

You can arrest someone but you CANNOT silence them... https://t.co/hGvzmiYArD

— Maggie Q (@MaggieQ) October 10, 2016

The Divergent actress was among a reported 100 protestors who turned up to the construction site for a peaceful protest, amid concerns that the pipeline project - which crosses the Missouri river - could potentially cause irreversible harm to the drinking water as well as the river's ecosystem.

A Morton County Sheriff's deputy officer arrests actress Shailene Woodley at a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo / AP

Speaking in a video, she said: "I was just walking back to the RV which is right there, so we could go back to camp peacefully. They grabbed me by the jacket and they said I wasn't allowed to continue.

They have giant guns and batons and zip ties and they're not letting me go.

Actress Shailene Woodley's mug-shot. Photo / Morton County Sheriff

"I'm being arrested! I was down there with everybody else! I don't know what's going on, as soon as they came I left. It's because I'm well known, it's because I have 40,000 people watching."