 |
| Dr. Jill Stein, a physician, has run for the presidency on behalf of the Green Party. |
 |
| Green Party presidential candidate and vandal Dr. Jill Stein, MD prepares to spray-paint "I approve this message" in red paint on the blade of a bulldozer at a protest against DAPL, the Dakota Access Pipeline in area of Morton County, North Dakota (Alicia Ewen/KX News/AP). |
.
Judge approves Jill Stein's plea deal for pipeline protest
BISMARCK - A North Dakota judge today accepted a plea agreement that spares former Green Party presidential candidate, vandal, and water protector Dr. Jill Stein, M.D. [Wisdom Quarterly's choice over Bernie and Donny] and any jail time for ethically protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline nearly a year ago.
.
Judge Gail Hagerty accepted a plea deal in which Dr. Stein pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief, and prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge.
Dr. Stein will be on unsupervised probation for about six months and must pay $250 in fees. She had faced a maximum punishment of two months in jail and $3,000 in fines.
Dr. Stein and her attorney did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment. Morton County Assistant State's Attorney Brian Grosinger also did not respond to messages seeking comment on why prosecutors chose not to take the case to trial.
 |
| Try to do the right thing. Law won't let you. |
Vandal Dr. Stein was charged for spray-painting a bulldozer at a construction site last September.
She told the Associated Press in March that it was "very problematic to have this hanging over my head" and that she wanted the case resolved. She also said that she was willing to go jail, but that's "not my preference, obviously."
Dr. Stein's running mate, Ajamu Baraka, who faced similar charges, got the same deal Wednesday. The $3.8 billion pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners on June 1 began moving North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois, even though American Indian tribes who fear environmental harm are still fighting the project in court.
Protests in North Dakota by tribes and environmental groups between last August and this past February resulted in 761 arrests [due to aggressive, paramilitary policing on behalf of the corporations involved, which are backed by Well Fargo Bank].
Dr. Stein was at a pipeline construction site in southern North Dakota on Sept. 6, 2016, where authorities said equipment was vandalized.
She issued a statement at the time admitting to spray-painting the words "I approve this message" on the blade of a bulldozer to protest that it "had been used to destroy sacred burial sites of the Standing Rock Sioux." More
No comments:
Post a Comment