Drop the Charges Against Jill Stein

 From: Jill Stein - Drop the Charges <info@jillstein.net>

To: Mark M

Sent: Monday, October 5, 2026 at 01:25:20 PM CDT

Subject: Urgent - Help me fight Orwellian criminal charges for opposing genocide in Gaza!

DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST JILL STEIN! OPPOSING GENOCIDE'S NOT A CRIME! Photo by Eric Lee. St. Louis Public Radio Dear Elaine,    I hope you are staying safe and sane! Thank you so much for helping bring us to this moment of unprecedented possibility, despite these times of great peril. Even as the embattled oligarchy doubles down on fascism, empire and crushing inequality, the people are rising up more than ever – rejecting ICE, data centers, forever wars, surveillance and the billionaire-funded politics enabling this.   The genocide in Palestine rages on at the center of this turbulent, historic moment - as you well know. In 2024, with your help, our presidential campaign elevated the demand to end the genocide and the US weapons enabling it, forcing it to the forefront of national presidential debate.     As a result of our unwavering advocacy – in particular, standing with Washington University (St. Louis) students peacefully protesting genocide in 2024 – I now find myself fighting false criminal charges of assaulting a police officer and trespassing. Of 100 protestors arrested, I alone am now facing trial and up to 18 months in prison if convicted. My next court appearance is Oct. 29.   We are urgently fundraising to pay two lawyers who’ve been heroically fighting this battle with me for nearly two and a half years with minimal compensation, and to cover additional legal costs. Please consider making a contribution to help fund our legal defense – protecting basic rights for us all.  Petition -- You’ll be joining Ali Abunimah, Chris Hedges, Medea Benjamin, Roger Waters, Glenn Greenwald, Jeffrey Sachs, Abby Martin, Craig Mokiber, Max Blumenthal, Butch Ware, Miko Peled and many more in calling for an end to this prosecution that threatens us all.   Feel free to spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and networks opposing genocide abroad and fascism at home. For more information, see below or go to jillstein.net. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Let’s beat back genocide, empire and the growing assault on our most basic freedoms. Together we’re unstoppable! Jill  PS. If you'd like more details, read on below.  FUND OUR LEGAL DEFENSE SIGN THE PETITION Before the police attacked. From  â€œSpecial prosecutors named in Jill Stein assault case stemming  from Wash U protest”  - Post-Dispatch Aug 29, 2025 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST ME   Our campaign used every opportunity to build opposition to Israel's genocide. The demonstration at Washington University in St. Louis in April, 2024, was perhaps the most intense case in point, where students asked us to stand with them as they put their future on the line.    The Wash U event was peaceful until the police charged the crowd, aiming for yours truly as one of the first points of attack, using a bicycle as a battering ram. After 100 arrests and two and a half years, the only case proceeding to court is the one against me.   My prosecution in St. Louis Court formally began on Sept. 14. i'm falsely accused of assaulting a police officer and trespassing. Widely circulated video (posted at jillstein.net), and the photo below, shows clearly who assaulted whom!   These preposterous charges threaten the right to free speech and protest for us all - and smack of political prosecution. The charges also threaten our right to a foreign policy that serves we the people, not the war contractors, AI billionaires and the military industrial complex.    The moral imperatives of the encampments at Wash U and so many other campuses have only grown more urgent. As the genocide in Gaza expands to the West Bank and Lebanon, it is exploding in the US-Israeli assault on Iran, generating regional chaos, global destabilization, and unprecedented nuclear risk. The financial costs are off the charts in weapons, energy and inflation. Meanwhile, public support is surging for the protesters' demands writ large – to end Israel's military assault on Gaza (and beyond) and the provision of US weapons enabling it. These positions are now supported by majorities in the US and global opinion surveys showing Israel as the most reviled nation in the world.    Two lawyers have been heroically fighting this battle with me for nearly two and a half years with minimal compensation. Criminal defense attorney Joe Welch has been leading the case from the start. He has a record of successfully defending the unjustly accused in the Mike Brown/Ferguson, Occupy, Peabody Coal, anti-genocide protests and more. Attorney Stephen Scapelliti, who advised our 2024 campaign and has supported progressive organizations and candidates for decades, is assisting.   It's clear now this case that should have been laughed out of the courtroom is not going away. If you are in a position to make a contribution, we are now urgently fundraising with an initial goal of $55,000 to compensate these dedicated attorneys for their longstanding and continuing service and to cover additional costs related to the case (depositions, transcripts etc.).    You can donate online at jillstein.net. Or make out a check to “Jill Stein for President 2024" and write "Legal Defense Fund” in the memo line. (Note, there is no contribution limit for legal defense fund donations, per FEC rules.) Send the check to:     Scott Marshall     Treasurer. Stein legal defense    22906 "F" 56th Ave W     Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 Thank you so very much.  Jill Stein