A Missouri judge issued an arrest warrant for three-time Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein after she and her attorney skipped a mandatory court appearance Monday on charges she assaulted a police officer during an anti-Israel campus protest. When the people who lecture Americans about justice won't even show up for court, working Americans see exactly what those values are worth.
St. Louis Associate Circuit Judge Karma Johnson confirmed that neither Stein nor her lawyer appeared for the 9 a.m. hearing and issued a bench warrant, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors were present and ready to proceed.
The charges date to April 27, 2024, when protesters descended on Washington University's Danforth Campus and erected tents inside the John M. Olin Library. Law enforcement warned the demonstrators — including the 76-year-old Stein — that they faced arrest for trespassing. Instead of leaving, protesters locked arms and yelled "hold the line" as officers moved in, charging documents obtained by First4Alert show.
That's when Stein allegedly grabbed an approaching officer's bicycle, which struck another cop in the forearm. While that officer — identified as Officer Moore — held the bike in the air, Stein allegedly kicked him multiple times in the right leg near his groin, the Post reported. Moore was later diagnosed with a forearm strain, a contusion on his right leg, and a groin injury.
Newsweek noted that over 100 arrests were made when police broke up the protest, but only two people were actually charged — Stein and one other individual. Make of that selectivity what you will.
Stein's campaign manager, Jason Call, and his deputy, Kelly Merrill-Caye, were also among those busted at the time, the Post reported. Footage posted to Stein's own X account showed police detaining and escorting her from the protest.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith insisted the charges aren't about speech or assembly. "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," she said. "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."
Stein's reps did not respond to requests for comment from either outlet.
The framing split is telling: the Post called the demonstration an "anti-Israel protest" and labeled Stein a "far-left pol." Newsweek described it as a protest "over the war in Gaza" and granted Stein her "Dr." title. Same facts, different sympathies.
Stein's best presidential showing came in 2016, when she pulled just over 1% of the national vote. Now she's pulling something else entirely — a bench warrant, after demanding the system take her cause seriously while refusing to take the system's summons seriously.
The open question: Will a Green Party standard-bearer who kicks cops and skips court face any real accountability, or does the left's favorite protected class get another pass?
