Pro-Palestine protesters face charges nearly a year after campus occupation

Almost a year after a violent pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle prosecutors on Tuesday filed charges against 33 of the protesters involved.

The protesters occupied UW’s Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in May 2025, some heard yelling “death to the police” or “every cop death is a victory for the resistance” according to videos and reports at the time. Others started fires, blocked entrances, and wrestled with authorities. In videos posted to X, supposed “Antifa militants” displayed Palestinian flags in the building’s windows.

A group of black bloc Antifa militants are occupying the Mechanical Engineering building. The doors to the entrance are barricaded. pic.twitter.com/EdyF3zSGXr

— Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) May 6, 2025

Super UW, a pro-Palestinian student organization on the campus, organized the protest and posted a series of pictures to Instagram promoting the so-called “occupation.” The group claimed protesters were occupying the building to “demand that UW cut ties with Boeing” and “end the repression of pro-Palestinian students, faculty, and staff.” Boeing invested $10 million into UW to fund the building’s construction and holds long-term contracts with the Israeli Defense Forces and the U.S. military. The group has also made several posts to Instagram commemorating the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel.

Victor Balta, UW’s spokesman and assistant vice president for communications, wrote after the incident that the protesters “created a dangerous environment in and around the building.” Balta said at the time the individuals were arrested on suspicion of “trespassing, property destruction, and disorderly conduct.”

“We are pleased to see criminal charges filed with the court related to the occupation of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building,” Balta said in a new statement after charges were finally filed. “We value free speech and expression but also must continue to be a campus community where dangerous, unlawful actions are not tolerated.”

Despite more than $1 million in damage to the building from the incident, however, the individuals have been only been charged with trespassing, according to Seattle’s KOMO-TV. The outlet also reported that “it was not immediately clear how many were or are” enrolled at UW, though the university said in a statement that some of the individuals had already received suspensions over the incident.

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