Pro-Palestinian protesters cause $1M in damage at UW, 34 arrested
UW protest in Seattle causes $1 million in damage
The University of Washington Board of Regents is scheduled to meet Thursday. It comes after protesters caused nearly $1 million worth of damage to the building they took over Monday night.
SEATTLE - The University of Washington’s Board of Regents is set to meet Thursday morning as the school estimates pro-Palestinian protesters caused $1 million in damage during a building takeover earlier this week.
According to UW, protesters not only damaged a campus building on Monday night but also ruined equipment inside — in addition to setting fire to dumpsters outside.
The backstory:
The group ‘Super UW’ – Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return – protested in opposition to the new Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, which was funded in part by Boeing. The group said it demanded the university cut ties with Boeing due to the company’s military contracts with Israel.
The UW administration reported that the protesters forced a lockdown, calling the group’s actions illegal and dangerous. The university also described the group’s statement about the Hamas bombings that killed Israeli citizens as anti-Semitic.
What we know:
Initially, the school said 21 students were arrested, suspended and banned from all UW campuses. A later update said 34 people are now facing consequences, though it’s unclear if all are students.
The university said any non-student will be banned from the Seattle campus.
Four protesters have been released by the court; the rest have posted bond.
(Cam Higby via Storyful)
UW announced Wednesday that it received a notice from the federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which has initiated a review of federal grants and contracts at the university. UW says it is cooperating with the evaluation.
What's next:
According to the university student newspaper, The Daily, the school’s Board of Regents is scheduled to meet at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The newspaper also reported that the group behind Monday’s protest is calling for a rally at 1 p.m. Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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The Source: Information in this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle, the University of Washington, and UW's student newspaper ‘The Daily’.
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