ST. LOUIS — Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein was one of roughly 80 people arrested Saturday night on Washington University St. Louis' campus. The protest comes after students were arrested and suspended last weekend during a sit-in protest at a university event for potential students.
Around 10 p.m. hundreds of demonstrators moved from the WashU campus to the St. Louis County jail in Clayton where dozens of protestors were detained, including Stein. 5 On Your Side was there overnight and counted roughly 200 people waiting outside showing their support for those arrested.
Stein spent six hours in police custody. She was booked in the jail at 7:26 pm and released at 1:30 am. Stein spoke with 5 On Your Side minutes after her release, saying she is facing charges of assault.
"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?'" Stein said.
WashU, in a statement, said everyone who was arrested will be charged with trespassing. It also said that some may be charged with resisting arrest and assault for injuries to Washington University officers.
After a KSDK request to WashU for the number of officers hurt Saturday night and the nature of those injuries, the university added that information to their statement, saying in part that three officers were hurt. Their injuries were a broken finger, a groin injury, and a concussion.
Stein said she faces charges for assault on an officer but claims she was the one assaulted.
"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."
The Jill Stein campaign says the Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager were also arrested.
When talking with 5 On Your Side, Stein criticized the way WashU handled the protest.
"I think it's a really bad look for the university. Basically, they've called out the police and they are arresting this encampment. That is nothing other than the exercise of our constitutional rights," Stein said. "This is about freedom of speech. And not just any old freedom of speech, but freedom of speech on a very critical issue that needs debate and dialogue."
Stein said she doesn't think these charges and the arrest will impact her campaign.
"I don't think it really changes things except to show that we are not hypocrites, you know, and that we are really putting our money where our mouth is— that is behind students and young people and really supporting their moral authority to lead us forward on this issue," Stein said.
The protest comes after students were arrested and suspended last weekend during a sit-in protest at a university event for potential students. Resist WashU, the collective leading the demonstration, said last weekend's protest was an attempt to hold Washington University accountable to a resolution passed by the student union demanding WashU cut ties with Boeing Co. The company has supplied military weapons to Israel during the war, according to published reports citing congressional aides and a U.S. official.
Resist WashU claimed that last weekend's protest was met with "an outsized police presence and explicit threats of violence and mass arrest by the Washington University Police Department."
In a statement prior to Saturday's arrests, the group said it planned to keep the encampment in place until the university met five demands:
- to cut ties with Boeing;
- to boycott Israel educational institutions;
- to drop charges and suspensions against protestors and defund university police;
- to stop buying land and to return all land to indigenous communities;
- and to release a statement condemning Palestinian genocide and calling for a ceasefire.
The Jewish Federation of St. Louis provided the following statement Saturday:
“Our Statement on Current St. Louis Protests & Washington University
We stand with Washington University as it works to maintain the principles of cultural and religious diversity that universities cherish and that we expect from this esteemed institution.
Peaceful protests are one thing but anything that creates a hostile environment that threatens the safety of any student or calls for harm to Israel and the Jewish people cannot be tolerated.
Hamas attacked Israel, brutalized thousands of people and still holds many of them hostage. Our focus should not be taken from the victims of Hamas terrorism, including the people of Gaza who suffer under their control. Twisting facts to threaten Jewish students in the United States does a disservice to the truth and perpetuates a culture of antisemitism that we will not abide.”
