A judge in Missouri issued an arrest warrant for Jill Stein after the three-time Green Party presidential candidate decided to not attend a court hearing over her arrest during a chaos-filled anti-Israel campus protest. Stein, 76, along with her lawyer, failed to make the required in-person hearing in a St. Louis court.
Stein is now facing one count of first-degree trespassing and a single count of fourth-degree assault in connection with a protest held at Washington University located in St. Louis, Missouri. The warrant for her arrest didn’t last long. Joseph Welch, Stein’s attorney, appeared in court later that same afternoon and talked Judge Karma Johnson into rescinding the warrant.
The misdemeanor case is now set to be continued on September 14, 2026. Stein and other individuals involved in the incident will be required to appear before the court in person. The protest that started it all began in Forest Park and then moved onto the university’s Danforth Campus. It then moved locations again, entering the John M. Olin Library, where protesters pitched tents outside.
According to a report from Trending Politics News, local law enforcement officers ordered the crowd numerous times to leave the area. After receiving a final warning that if they didn’t leave they would be arrested and charged with trespassing, demonstrators defiantly locked arms and started yelling “hold the line” as officers approached to make good on their threat.
Stein allegedly grabbed a bicycle that was being used by an officer, which led to another officer getting involved. The second officer was hit by the bike in his left forearm. As the bike was lifted, Stein allegedly kicked the second officer several times in his right leg, close to the groin. The officer was later diagnosed with a strained forearm, a bruise on the back of his right leg, and a groin injury.
Footage of the protest was posted on Stein’s x account, showing law enforcement officers taking the radical left-wing candidate into custody and then escorting her away from the crowd. Jason Call, Stein’s campaign manager, along with his deputy, Kelly Merrill-Caye, were among the demonstrators arrested that day.
St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith stated that after charges were filed in 2025, the prosecution was far more concerned about the alleged acts of violence than the political views of the protesters. “I want to make it clear that these misdemeanor criminal charges are not a statement about the freedoms of speech or assembly, which we honor and uphold as part of our Constitution,” Smith went on to say.
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“They are not a statement about the subject of the protest, which was the situation in Gaza. These charges merely reflect our professional judgment that we have the evidence to prove these particular criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Smith continued. Jill Stein was the Green Party presidential nominee in 2012, 2016, and 2024. Her best results came from the 2016 election where she pulled in over 1.4 million votes, or 1.07% of the national total.
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