Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka, have been charged in North Dakota for allegedly spray-painting graffiti on equipment at a Dakota Access Pipeline work site on Tuesday.
According to an affidavit filed Wednesday in Morton County District Court, law enforcement was alerted to video that showed Mrs. Stein painting the front of a bulldozer with the words, “I approve this message,” a local NBC affiliate reported.
Officers were also alerted to video that showed Mr. Baraka painting the word “decolonization” on a bulldozer, the affidavit said.
Mrs. Stein and Mr. Baraka are charged with criminal trespass and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. The Morton County Sheriff’s department has issued warrants of arrest.
Mrs. Stein was part of a group of 150 to 200 protesters who gathered Tuesday at the construction site in Morton County, where two protesters affixed themselves to bulldozers, according to the Bismarck Tribune.
Mrs. Stein issued the following statement Wednesday: “I hope the 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. I hope they take action against the Dakota Access Pipeline company that is endangering drinking water not only for the Standing Rock Sioux, but for millions of people downstream of the reservation who depend on the Missouri River.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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