U.S. presidential candidate arrested at anti-Israel protest

(JNS.org) – Missouri police arrested Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein during a visit to an illegal anti-Israel protest on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday.

Jill Stein speaking at a Green Party presidential campaign town hall event in Mesa, Ariz. March 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Stein, who was in town for a campaign event, was detained alongside two of her staffers, but released several hours later.

A campaign spokesperson said that Stein was not made aware of any charges being brought against her.

Stein was at the protest to support student organizations that had set up an encampment and declared they would not leave until the university condemned Israel’s war against Hamas and called for an “immediate, permanent ceasefire” with the U.S.-designated terrorist group.

“Resist WashU” also demanded that the educational institution divest from Boeing and boycott Israeli universities, among other demands.

Dozens were detained after it 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 university said in a statement.

“All will face charges of trespassing and some may also be charged with resisting arrest and assault, including for injuries to police officers,” Washington University added.

Anti-Israel and antisemitic protests are spreading across college campuses in the United States, energized by the arrest of more than 100 students at Columbia University earlier this month.

Major universities have done little to quell the unrest and the protesters have faced little in the way of disciplinary action, while Jewish students remain threatened.