North Dakota’s arrest warrant for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is the second misstep the candidate’s campaign has had to deal with in the past week. Last week she faced a smaller problem, in comparison, when she showed up to the wrong Ohio city for a rally.
The Morton County State’s Attorney’s office put out an arrest warrant for Stein Wednesday, reportedGizmodo. In a press release the Attorney’s Office sent Gizmodo, the warrant charges Stein and her vice president pick Ajamu Baraka with criminal trespass and criminal mischief after the two allegedly spray painted machinery at the Dakota Access Pipeline site. Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier was originally going to also charge Stein with vandalism.
In a press conference Tuesday, Kirchmeier said, “Dr. Jill Stein was seen at the construction site actually vandalizing, spray painting a blade on the equipment.” Stein tweeted about the vandalism charges, even quoting a tweet showing footage of her spray painting a bulldozer. “The Dakota Access Pipeline is vandalism on steroids,” Stein wrote. She was reportedly seen spray painting “I approve this message” while Baraka reportedly spray painted “decolonization,” according to the Sheriff’s department.
State of ND may charge me with vandalism. Will they charge the oil company that razed sacred burial grounds? #NoDAPL https://t.co/PAYmyN2FCm
I hope ND presses charges against the real vandals who bulldoze sacred burial sites. #NoDAPL https://t.co/34e6stP5wQ pic.twitter.com/6Hn3LT1500
Stein was one of around 200 protesters Tuesday at the pipeline site, reported the Bismarck Tribune. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is trying to stop construction of the pipeline, which is reportedly destroying their sacred ground.
The charges against Stein and Baraka are punishable by up to 30 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
