Okay, Maybe He Will Divide Us: Shia LaBeouf's Anti-Trump Livestream Shut Down For 'Public Safety'

The Museum of the Moving Image is putting the kibosh on actor-provacateur Shia LaBeouf's anti-Trump webcam livestream, which was supposed to last for the next four years, because the museum says the project "created an unexpectedly volatile situation and serious public safety hazards."

Titled HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US, made in collaboration with artists Nastja Rönkkö and Luke Turner, and begun on Inauguration Day, the piece consisted of a camera mounted on the outside of the museum and a standing invitation for the public to come say the phrase "He will not divide us" into it. Within days, LaBeouf had been arrested for assault after a scuffle with a possible Trump supporter outside the Astoria museum, and the webcam became a rallying point for neo-Nazis, right-wing conspiracy theorists, and other internet trolls.

"The installation created a serious and ongoing public safety hazard for the Museum, its visitors, staff, local residents, and businesses," the museum's leadership said in a statement. "The installation had become a flashpoint for violence and was disrupted from its original intent."

The museum's statement said further that the installation prompted dozens of threats of violence and "numerous arrests," prompting the NYPD to station police there around the clock. An NYPD spokesperson said that LaBeouf was the only person arrested during the duration of the exhibit.

Also, as Page Six reports, neighbors complained about people loitering on their porches in the early morning, peeing, and smoking weed.

In a statement, local Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer wrote, "I have personally observed what I believe to be public safety threats and significant issues relating to public nuisance at the installation itself and on the live feed. And I have heard from constituents, who live mere yards from the exhibit, that they felt unsafe as a result. This was an unacceptable, if unintended, outcome of this installation."

The 24-hour police detail "tells you all you need to know about what was happening there," he wrote.

Museum board trustee Claire Shulman told Page Six the decision to approve the webcam came without proper consultation, and noted that as a nonprofit the institution is barred from engaging in partisan politics.

In their statement, museum leaders concluded that although safety concerns overrode the artistic mission, they were "proud to have launched this engaging and thought-provoking digital art installation which was experienced by millions of online viewers worldwide."

We reached out to a representative of LaBeouf's artistic endeavors for his reaction and future plans, and will update if we hear back. The HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US live feed is still online, now showing a still frame with the text, "THE MUSEUM HAS ABANDONED US".

Updated to note the involvement of Nastja Rönkkö and Luke Turner in creating the art project.