Arrest Warrant Issued for Presidential Candidate Jill Stein

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein briefly found herself facing an arrest warrant in Missouri after failing to appear in court in a case stemming from a chaotic 2024 campus protest.

The warrant was issued after Stein and her attorney did not appear for a scheduled Monday morning hearing in St. Louis County, according to court records. It was later withdrawn after her lawyer appeared in court and explained that the absence was the result of a scheduling mix-up.

Stein, a three-time Green Party presidential nominee, is facing misdemeanor charges of first-degree trespassing and fourth-degree assault over her alleged actions during a heated April 27, 2024 demonstration at Washington University in St. Louis.

The protest, organized over the war in Gaza, spilled onto the university’s Danforth Campus as demonstrators clashed with authorities and refused repeated orders to leave.

According to charging documents, protesters eventually locked arms and shouted “hold the line” as police moved in to clear the area. Stein allegedly grabbed onto an officer’s bicycle during the confrontation, causing it to strike another officer.

Authorities allege Stein then kicked that officer several times in the leg near his groin as the tense standoff unfolded. The officer was later diagnosed with injuries including a forearm strain, bruising to his leg and a groin injury, according to reports citing court documents.

Stein was among scores of people arrested during the demonstration. Washington University said at the time that protesters had repeatedly been ordered to leave the property before police began making arrests.

The legal trouble resurfaced this week when Stein failed to appear for court.

Associate Circuit Judge Karma Johnson initially issued a warrant following the missed hearing. Stein’s attorney, Joseph Welch, later appeared that afternoon and successfully asked the judge to quash it.

Stein’s case is now scheduled to continue on Sept. 14, and the court has ordered all parties — including Stein herself — to appear in person. The judge warned that another warrant could be issued if she fails to show.

Stein pushed back against the attention surrounding the courtroom drama, saying the media should focus more heavily on the bloodshed in Gaza and the West Bank than on what she described as a scheduling mistake.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have stressed that the case is about Stein’s alleged conduct during the protest — not her political views.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith previously said the charges were not intended as an attack on free speech or the right to assemble, but instead reflected prosecutors’ belief that they had enough evidence to prove the alleged criminal offenses.

Stein has run for president three times as the Green Party nominee, appearing on the ballot in 2012, 2016 and 2024. Her strongest showing came in 2016, when she received more than 1.4 million votes nationwide.

For now, the arrest warrant is gone — but Stein’s legal battle over the explosive campus confrontation is far from over.