Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to speak on arrest warrant

ByLiz Nagy WLS logo
Friday, September 9, 2016
Jill Stein to speak on arrest warrant
The race for the White House is expected to take an unusual turn through Chicago Friday.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The race for the White House is expected to take an unusual turn through Chicago Friday. Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein has more than just a political fight ahead of her.

During her visit to Chicago, a warrant was issued for Stein's arrest in North Dakota, where she spray-painted a bulldozer during an oil pipeline protest.

Stein, 66, defended her decision Wednesday while walking through the city's violence-torn South Austin community. She said she and her lawyers are fully cooperating with authorities.

Green Party voters gathered in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood Thursday night for a rally to support several candidates on their third-party ticket.

Stein, who grew up in north suburban Highland Park, made her pitch on why a Green Party vote will mean something in November.

"Chicago has been leading the fight in immigrant rights since more than a decade ago, when you brought hundreds of thousands of people out of the shadows and into streets to say that immigrant rights are people's rights. Chicago is leading the fight to close down polluting power plants, like in Pilsen where you closed down two polluting coal plants," Stein said.

Despite her campaign efforts, Stein's very best polling numbers are at about 5 percent. She argues that a vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton is a wasted vote.

Stein will hold another event Friday at the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue around 11 a.m. Then around 4 p.m., she plans to hold a rally to protest the oil pipeline at Daley Plaza.