Iowa governor candidate Rick Stewart resumes campaign after suspending it due to protest arrest

Libertarian Rick Stewart resumed his campaign for Iowa governor last week after temporarily suspending it following a May arrest during a protest in Washington.

Stewart was arrested while participating in a small protest at U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency headquarters in May, where a group of activists demanded to speak with an agency official about the right to use psilocybin — also known as magic mushrooms — as an experimental treatment for terminal illnesses.

Stewart said in a May interview with the Des Moines Register that the protest was not violent, but that the group set off a "harmless" smoke bomb, plastered posters to the windows of the building and gathered outside the agency's doors.

Agency officials refused to meet with the group, The Hill reported, and they called federal police to the scene.

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Stewart was arrested, charged with trespassing and released. He had announced the pause in his campaign after he returned to Iowa, saying he would spend the next few weeks discussing with Iowans whether the arrest was a deal-breaker for the candidacy.

Stewart then resumed his campaign June 20, according to a campaign news release.

The release said Stewart's trial for trespassing is scheduled Aug. 10 in Washington.

Stewart has said he would support the legalization of all drugs if elected.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is seeking reelection, also will face Democrat Deidre DeJear.

The Des Moines Register's Katie Akin contributed to this report.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Rick Stewart resumes Libertarian run for Iowa governor after arrest