At least 30 anti-Israel protesters were arrested Monday after occupying an engineering building at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The protesters, who are also being identified as Antifa, holed up in the building for several hours to demand the school divest from Boeing, Fox News reported Tuesday.
Some of the protesters set dumpster fires and blocked streets nearby. Video footage shows the black-clad group standing behind what appears to be a bike rack while holding up trash can shields:
Breaking — Antifa militants have taken over the University of Washington campus to protest Israel.
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) May 6, 2025
Multiple fires have been set. Authorities have issued an order to disperse. pic.twitter.com/4t0HFPxvut
Campus police and local officers eventually contained the situation and arrested about 30 protesters who had locked themselves into the building. Their charges included trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy.
According to NBC News, some of the protesters are linked to a group called Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (Super UW) which is against Boeing’s defense contracts and arms sales to Israel.
Super UW on Monday sent out a call to action in a Facebook post, writing, “UW STUDENTS ARE OCCUPYING THE BOEING FUNDED ENGINEERING BUILDING ON UW CAMPUS!! Show up right now to the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (4000 E Stevens Way) to support these brave students.”
“The University of Washington is a direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its allegiance to its partnership with Boeing. RALLY NOW outside the IEB to take action with these students, alongside the people of Palestine and their brave resistance. Wear a mask, and cover idntifiable [sic] features. Read the full manifesto on our medium,” the post continued:
️CALL TO ACTION ️UW STUDENTS ARE OCCUPYING THE BOEING FUNDED ENGINEERING BUILDING ON UW CAMPUS!! Show up right now…
Posted by SUPER UW on Monday, May 5, 2025
Another clip shows Antifa bullying law enforcement officers shouting “Move back! Move back! Move back!” while pounding their trash can shields:
Seattle police are retreating from Antifa at the University of Washington where domestic terrorists have taken over the engineering building.
— Billboard Chris 🌎 (@BillboardChris) May 6, 2025
The Hamas fan club is mad that @UW has a partnership with @Boeing which they say is involved in a genocide. pic.twitter.com/Y6wykAbAmN
More video shows a dumpster that had been set on fire with trash cans and other items piled near it as chanting is heard in the background:
OVERNIGHT: Antifa activists rioted, starting fires and blockading police as they seized control of parts of the University of Washington. Walls have been spray-painted anti-establishment slogans, and there were reports of multiple e-bike batteries being thrown into the fire,… pic.twitter.com/pakBR5M7AS
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) May 6, 2025
“Antifa are trying to burn down the @UW campus as their occupation of the Engineering Building spirals out of control. The militants have effectively been given free rein. They’re demanding the university end all relationship with Israel,” journalist Andy Ngô wrote in a social media post that featured video footage of people watching the fires burn:
Breaking: Antifa are trying to burn down the @UW campus as their occupation of the Engineering Building spirals out of control. The militants have effectively been given free reign. They're demanding the university end all relationship with Israel. pic.twitter.com/iUoZ2pvzNo https://t.co/GezFzRD4zI
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) May 6, 2025
Journalist Jonathan Choe shared an image of the anti-Israel chant shouted by protesters:
Here’s a copy of the pro-Hamas chant this evening at the University of Washington in Seattle. The far-left activists seem to recruit clueless people. They just protest for the sake of protesting.🙃🔥 pic.twitter.com/pAvvlIw3gJ
— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) May 6, 2025
In a statement after the protest, the university said, “The UW is committed to maintaining a secure learning and research environment, and strongly condemns this illegal building occupation and the antisemitic statement that was issued by a suspended student group Monday.”
“The University will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and will continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms,” it concluded.
It is important to note that the jihadist terror group known as Hamas, along with Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah, celebrated the one-year anniversary of the horrific attacks on Israel that happened on October 7, 2023, per a Breitbart News article published in October:
Hamas thugs invaded Israel from their stronghold in Gaza in the early morning hours of October 7 a year ago on Monday, committing widespread crimes against humanity and ultimately killing an estimated 1,200 people. The terrorists invaded residential communities, breaking into the homes of sleeping families and killing them all. Israeli rescuers found dead babies in some of the homes. Significant evidence indicates that the terrorists tortured and raped their victims, then desecrated their corpses after their deaths. On several occasions, the jihadis stole the phones of their victims and uploaded horrific images of their atrocities to the social media accounts of the dead.
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing its military reserves for an operation called “Gideon’s Chariots” to reconquer Gaza and eliminate Hamas, Breitbart News reported Monday.
“The Israeli government says that it will carry out the operation if Hamas does not agree to a hostage deal by the end of the forthcoming visit of President Donald Trump to the region, which will be from May 13 to 16,” the outlet said.
