The second presidential debate is already off to a contentious start, with Green Party candidate Jill Stein and her running mate Cheri Honkala being arrested outside Hofstra University this afternoon. According to the Long Island Report, the candidates tried to get into the debate hall, but weren’t allowed on campus because they didn’t have the proper credentials. The women say they should be allowed to participate in the debate, since they’ve made it on to 85 percent of state ballots across the country, but the Commission on Presidential Debates requires candidates to have at least 15 percent of the vote in national polls (which is why Ross Perot didn’t have to sneak into the debates in 1992). Eventually police blocked the entrance, prompting Stein and Honkala to sit in the street with an American flag draped over their laps. Honkala said they just wanted to practice their First Amendment rights, but police called it obstructing traffic and quickly placed them under arrest.
Green Party Candidates Make Unsuccessful Attempt to Crash Debate
