Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was among 100 people arrested at Washington University in St. Louis over the weekend, her campaign manager confirmed to Fox News Digital. The arrest came during an anti-Israel protest on campus, where demonstrators were calling for the university to divest from Boeing, a company that manufactures munitions used in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Stein’s campaign manager, Jason Call, stated that he, Stein, and deputy campaign manager Kelly Merrill-Cayer were all arrested at the encampment on the campus. He expressed support for the students’ peaceful protest and assembly, emphasizing that student activism for peace and civil liberties represents the best part of our collective moral conscience.
The arrest of Stein comes amidst a wave of anti-Israel protests across college campuses in the United States, with incidents of antisemitism also on the rise. More than 100 people were arrested at the Washington University protest, which is part of a series of demonstrations happening at universities nationwide.
Other universities, including Columbia, Yale, and Harvard, have also seen protests and arrests related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. USC has even closed its campus to non-residents and canceled on-stage graduations due to the unrest.
The Stein campaign’s statement of solidarity with the students and their cause underscores the growing activism and awareness surrounding international conflicts on college campuses. The arrest of a presidential candidate adds a unique angle to the ongoing protests, highlighting the intersection of politics, activism, and social justice movements in the current landscape.