A judge ordered Jill Stein arrested after she blew off her court hearing on Monday.
The 76-year-old perennial Green Party presidential candidate was a total no-show for a 9 a.m. appearance in St. Louis, where she faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly attacking a police officer during a wild 2024 anti-Israel protest at Washington University. Associate Circuit Judge Karma Johnson was not amused. She ordered Stein taken into custody and held without bond, according to reports.
Here is where it gets even messier. Not only did Stein ghost the courtroom, but her lawyer Joseph Welch also failed to show up for the mandated in-person hearing. Prosecutors were there and ready to go. They actually told the judge they were not even asking for a warrant. But Johnson dropped the hammer anyway.
Hours later, Welch finally rolled in and requested the warrant be tossed out. Johnson agreed, withdrew the order, and rescheduled everything to September 14. But she left zero room for interpretation, noting in the new filing that another warrant will absolutely follow if the defendant pulls this stunt again.
So what landed the three-time Green Party nominee in legal hot water in the first place? The charges stem from an April 27, 2024, demonstration where protesters stormed Washington University's Danforth Campus, pitched tents, and linked arms while chanting after cops told them to disperse. Over 100 people got hauled away that day.
Stein's alleged conduct stands out from the crowd. Police say she grabbed an approaching officer's bicycle, causing it to slam into a second cop identified as Officer Moore, hitting him in the forearm. Then, while Moore held the bike up, Stein allegedly kicked him repeatedly in the right leg near the groin area. The officer later received medical care and was diagnosed with a strained left forearm, a leg injury, and testicular contusions. She faces one count each of first-degree trespassing and fourth-degree assault.
Her campaign manager and deputy were also among those collared during the chaos. Yet remarkably, only Stein and one other person ended up with formal criminal charges out of all those arrests.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith made clear when filing the case that this has nothing to do with constitutional rights. She stated the charges are not commentary on free speech or assembly, nor about the subject of the protest itself. They simply reflect the prosecution's professional conclusion that sufficient evidence exists to prove the criminal allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Stein, who ran for president on the Green Party ticket in 2012, 2016, and 2024, has repeatedly labeled Israel's defensive operations in Gaza as "genocide" and aligned herself with far-left activist causes. Her 2016 campaign drew heavy fire from Democrats who accused her of peeling away crucial votes in swing states.
The next court date is locked in for September 14. Judge Johnson has already made the consequences crystal clear. Show up or get picked up.
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