James Cromwell arrested for disorderly conduct

American Horror Story star James Cromwell, 73, has been arrested in Madison, Wisc.

The incident happened Thursday at a University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting where the actor was protesting animal testing.

He and PETA spokesman Jeremy Beckham held two large signs showing a cat with metal implanted in its head at the university's lab. According to TMZ, they burst into the meeting, with Cromwell yelling, "This is not science. This is cruel!"

PETA has claimed 30 cats a year at the university are starved, deafened and decapitated for brain research. The director of the school's Research Animal Resources Center says federal agriculture officials have found their claims to be false.

University police Sgt. Brent Gruber tells AP that Cromwell was arrested and ticketed on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. He was out of jail by Thursday afternoon.

Cromwell was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1995 pig film Babe.