A North Dakota judge put out a warrant for the arrest of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Wednesday, charging her with criminal trespass and mischief during protest against a pipeline project.
Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka are accused of “spray-painting construction equipment during a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline,” reported The Associated Press. Based on court records, Stein was charged Wednesday in Morton County with misdemeanor counts of “criminal trespass and criminal mischief,” according to NBC News.
Stein’s campaign spokeswoman Meleiza Figueroa said activists invited the Green Party candidate to leave a message at the protest site. Stein proceeded to spray the phrase “I approve this message” in red paint on the blade of a bulldozer, the AP noted.
Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rob Keller said the warrant has been filed and if authorities were to come across Stein, “they would arrest her,” per NBC News.
According to MSN.com, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is trying to stop construction of a section of the pipeline that tribal leaders say would violate sacred and culturally sensitive grounds and possibly pollute water. The four-state pipeline is worth $3.8 billion, said the AP.
Prior to charges being filed, per NBC News, Stein had said she hoped North Dakota authorities “press charges against the real vandalism taking place at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation: the bulldozing of sacred burial sites and the unleashing of vicious attack dogs.”
According to BBC News, there have been over 3,000 pipeline protesters there since April and security forces have used dogs to move protesters out of the area.
Stein has been arrested before while campaigning. She was charged in 2012 for protesting outside of a debate to which she hadn't been invited.
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