CLAYTON — Two activists who participated in a pro-Palestine protest last spring at Washington University now face charges, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office said Wednesday.
Those charged include Jill Stein, the presidential nominee of the Green Party in 2024, who is accused of hitting a police officer with a bicycle and kicking him at the protest.
Stein, 74, was charged Friday with first-degree trespass and fourth-degree assault.
Another protester, Jeron Hicks, 24, was charged last Thursday with fourth-degree assault, first-degree trespass and resisting/interfering with an arrest.
The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office said it received 19 applications for charges but chose to charge Stein and Hicks because their cases involved alleged assaults on law enforcement officers.
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Prosecutors said Washington University Campus Police, if they choose to press for charges, can take the 17 other cases to municipal court.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, left, links arms with others, including Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, second from right, and Aldermanic President Megan Green, right, as they surround campers protesting in support of Palestine as police show up to their encampment on Saturday, April 27, 2024, on Washington University's campus in St. Louis.
In all, 100 people — most university outsiders — were arrested on April 27 at the protest against the war in Gaza, including 23 students, four faculty members and three staff.
Stein did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Stein attended the protest along with other local elected officials including Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier and Board of Aldermen President Megan Green, a Washington University adjunct professor at the time. Green accused Washington University of pushing her out of the university months after the protest.
In charging documents, Washington University police said demonstrators were given numerous warnings to leave the university’s private campus. Officers moved in for arrests around 8 p.m. Court documents alleged Stein interlocked her arms with other demonstrators and refused to leave.
One officer approached the demonstrators with a bicycle and was “grabbed†by Stein and others, police said. Another officer, Donald Moore, attempted to assist the other officer in controlling the bicycle.
The bicycle struck Moore in the left forearm during the struggle, police said. While the bicycle was raised, police said Stein kicked Moore “several times†in the rear right leg and groin.
Police said Moore had difficulty walking and sought medical treatment over the next two days. He was diagnosed with a strained left forearm, a contusion to the back of his right leg and a testicular contusion, according to court documents.
In an interview with the Post-Dispatch just days after the protest, Stein disputed accounts that she struck an officer.
“While I was being assaulted with a bicycle, one of the police bent down and picked up my foot in order to try to further destabilize me into falling backwards,†Stein said. “And I wiggled out of his grip, you know, in an effort not to fall back on my head.â€
Hicks is poet from Rolla, Missouri, and a Master of Fine Arts student in Washington University’s Department of English, according to his bio on Washington University’s website.
“We dispute that Jeron was trespassing at the university he attends,†his attorney, Brendan Roediger, said.
Court documents say Hicks spit on a lieutenant while he was sitting on the ground with his arms locked with other protesters. Roediger said Hicks was cleared of the spitting allegation by a university conduct board in September.
Roediger provided a screenshot of the board’s unanimous decision, which said the officer “assumed†it was Hicks who spit on her “based on their proximity to her and the respondent looking directly at her when she turned her head,†but there were no other witnesses or documentation.
Police also said Hicks refused to allow officers to put restraints his hands while he yelled “You almost got it†and “You got to do better dog.†And Hicks refused to stand or walk after police managed to restrain him and officers had to carry him from the scene, police said.
In a statement, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith said she wanted to make it clear the charges were not a statement about freedom of speech or the conflict in Gaza.
“These charges merely reflect our professional judgment that we have the evidence to prove these particular criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt,†Price said.
A spokesperson for Washington University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Protesters in support of Palestinians marched and set up tents on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis before police arrested them Saturday night, April 27, 2024. Video by Jacob Barker, ÁñÁ«ÊÓÆµ
According to a press release from Washington University, over 100 people were arrested during the protest on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Video by Christine Tannous