Green Party protest
Phila. activist Honkala arrested near site.
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Cheri Honkala, a veteran Philadelphia antipoverty activist and Green Party vice presidential nominee, was arrested along with her running mate as they tried to enter the debate site Tuesday afternoon.
Police said that Honkala and Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee, were charged with disorderly conduct.
The Green Party said in a statement that Stein and Honkala were walking with supporters toward the Hofstra University campus when they were met by uniformed police officers. Stein and Honkala then held an impromptu news conference in which Stein called the debate a "mockery of democracy."
They sat down on a street with an American flag on their laps and were warned that they would be arrested if they did not move.
Campaign manager Ben Manski told the Politico website that they did not intend to disrupt the debate but wanted to talk to reporters about the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates' requirement that each candidate garner at least 15 percent in national polls to be admitted to the debates.