XPost: alt.law-enforcement, seattle.politics, or.politics
XPost: soc.history.war.misc, ca.politics
Thank goodness the Univ. of Washington got a President who
understands the UW should not tolerate destruction and
anti-antisemitism!
from
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/21-students-suspended-after-uw-protest-occupation/
UW suspends 21 students after protest, occupation
May 7, 2025 at 6:01 pm Updated May 7, 2025 at 7:53 pm
At least 31 protesters were arrested at the University of Washington on
Monday after occupying an engineering building, setting fires and
damaging four manufacturing machines, one of which is pictured, each
valued at $35,000 to $120,000. Protesters called for the school to sever
ties with Boeing and end its “targeted assault” on pro-Palestinian activism. (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times)
At least 31 protesters were arrested at the University of Washington on
Monday after occupying an engineering building, setting fires and
damaging four manufacturing machines, one of which is pictured, each
valued at $35,000... (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times)More
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By Caitlyn Freeman
Seattle Times staff reporter
The University of Washington has suspended 21 students accused of
storming and occupying a new engineering building Monday night in
protest of the school’s ties to Boeing, officials announced Wednesday.
The suspensions come after at least 31 protesters were arrested Monday
night while demanding the school sever ties with Boeing and end a
“targeted assault” on pro-Palestinian activism.
About 75 masked protesters barricaded the engineering building’s
entrances by stacking items found inside and around the building around
5 p.m., according to court documents. Despite the university’s attempt
to shut down the building, protesters had already entered.
Protesters also lit fires in dumpsters on campus and caused “significant damage to the building and equipment inside it,” according to the
university. Police had not provided a specific damage estimate as of
Wednesday, though several new Haas Automation milling machines damaged
in the protest were valued at over $100,000.
Most protesters were students, according to organizers with Students
United for Palestinian Equality and Return UW, or SUPER UW.
“The 21 students who were arrested have been suspended and banned from
all UW campuses,” a news release stated. “Non-student participants will
be banned from the UW’s Seattle campus.”
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Related UW protest ends with 31 arrests at occupied building on campus
In announcing the takeover, the activist group cited what it called the “heroic victory of Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That attack killed 1,200 Israelis, with over 250 people
taken hostage. The protesters hung a banner from a second-floor window
of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, renaming it the Shaban
al-Dalou Building, after an engineering student who was killed by an
airstrike last year in Gaza.
Following the campus occupation, the federal Task Force to Combat
Anti-Semitism launched a review of federal grants and contracts at the university.
“No institution that tolerates violence, harassment, or the open
intimidation of Jewish students should expect to receive billions in
taxpayer support,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a written statement Tuesday.
“This isn’t about politics — it’s about whether a federally funded university is upholding the law, protecting civil rights, and fostering
a safe environment for all students.”
The university condemned antisemitism in the Wednesday news release,
saying it fully complies with Title VI and civil rights laws.
“We also recognize the need to continually improve and have for many
months been taking concrete actions to improve the campus climate for
Jewish students, faculty, staff and visitors,” according to the statement.
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University officials said Wednesday that police arrested 34 people.
Prosecutors counted 31. The reason for the discrepancy was unclear as of Wednesday evening. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond
to a request for comment. The University of Washington’s campus police
were leading the investigation.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a written statement that
he was “thankful that those responsible were arrested and, if found
guilty, they should be held accountable.”
“I fully and always support people’s right to protest and to express
their views,” Brown said. “Indeed it is foundational to our democracy.
But everyone has a right to be safe on campus and UW must enforce the law.”
The protesters were arrested for investigation of trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit all three.
“No felony cases from the UW arrests have been referred to the King
County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” prosecutor’s spokesperson Casey McNerthney said in an email Tuesday. “No property crime cases have been referred to the (prosecutors’ office).”
Four protesters arrested on gross misdemeanor trespassing charges
appeared in King County District Court on Tuesday and were released from custody, McNerthney said. All of the others posted $1,000 bond and
didn’t need to attend a bail hearing.
Last year, the university reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian
protesters who set up a “liberated zone” and occupied UW’s Quad for weeks. However, protests persisted after UW rejected demands to divest
from Boeing, a major weapons supplier to Israel. The aerospace company
has donated over $100 million to the university, including $10 million
for the new 70,000-square-foot engineering building.
In March, the university’s Board of Regents voted against forming an
advisory committee on divesting from companies with ties to Israel.
Caitlyn Freeman:
cfreeman@seattletimes.com.
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