OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Far-left Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested on Saturday while taking part in an anti-Israel protest on a university campus in St. Louis, Mo., officials said.
“Jill Stein and her Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager, Jason Call and Kelly Merrill-Cayer, have been arrested at Washington University in St. Louis while supporting a protest against WashU’s ties to the war on Gaza,” Stein wrote on her X platform account in a post that contained a video clip of the arrest.
According to KSDK-TV, Stein was among about 80 people who were arrested on the campus Saturday. She told the outlet she was charged with assault. She was booked into the jail just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday and released at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, KDSK noted.
“I sat a long time sitting alone in a cell, and I had no idea— ‘Did anybody even know I was there?’ I was separated from the group, and I was like, ‘Am I going be there all night or in here for a week?’” she said.
Not surprisingly, Stein claimed that she was the victim of assault.
“I got separated from the rest of the crowd, you know, and actually initially felt like there was a lot of safety in numbers. Then, it turned out I was being charged with assault after being assaulted by an officer on a bicycle and basically thrown onto my head,” she said.
BREAKING: Jill Stein and her Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager, Jason Call and Kelly Merrill-Cayer, have been arrested at Washington University in St. Louis while supporting a protest against WashU’s ties to the war on Gaza.
Video from @KallieECox pic.twitter.com/rkUYC9b5Qx— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) April 28, 2024
The university announced that all individuals arrested will be charged with trespassing. Furthermore, some protesters will also face charges of resisting arrest and assault, particularly in connection with injuries sustained by Washington University police.
The protest group at Washington University is demanding that the college drop all charges and suspensions against students who protested against the institution. Additionally, they are calling for a boycott of Boeing, which supplies warplanes to both Israel and the United States military, as well as a boycott of any Israeli educational institutions. They are also advocating for the return of land to indigenous communities and urging the university to issue a statement condemning Israel over its war against Hamas.
“We’re here to support the students who are standing up for our highest American values, for our democracy, and for an end to this genocide, which is unacceptable and a blight on this nation,” Stein said prior to her arrest, as reported by Newsweek.
“It must be stopped. The American people want it stopped. That’s what these students are here standing up for,” she said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, meanwhile, said a statement from the university blamed some of the protest violence on outsiders.
“It quickly became clear through the words and actions of this group that they did not have good intentions on our campus and that this demonstration had the potential to get out of control and become dangerous,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed disagreement with President Joe Biden’s position that the U.S. would not participate in an offensive operation against Iran, stating that he would never “capitulate to the fringe” of his party.
CNN host Jake Tapper asked Fetterman about reports saying that Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier that the U.S. would refrain from engaging in any offensive operations against Iran.
“Do you think that’s the right call or should direct U.S. military action, as some of your colleagues in the Senate are suggesting? Should that be on the table?” Tapper asked.
“I don’t agree with that. I just think we should follow and have Israel back in the situation. I don’t agree with the president. That doesn’t change anything—he‘s a fantastic president. I‘m proud to stand with him, campaign for him, and vote for him,” he responded.
“The president is entitled to his own views and whatever he decides to do. But I would never capitulate to the fringe. I’ll never pander to that as well. In fact, that empowers Hamas and Hamas — they’re actually convinced they’re winning the [public relations] war. And they’re never going to negotiate at this point. They think that they’re going to hold onto the very end,” Fetterman said.
