Illustrative Demonstrators march in support of Palestinians, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 5, 2025. Photo: David Ryder via Reuters Connect.

A pro-Hamas student group calling itself “Super UW” commandeered University of Washington’s Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) on Monday night and refused to leave unless school officials accede to its demand that the institution’s partnerships with The Boeing Company be terminated, whose armaments manufacturing they identified as a resource aiding Israel’s war to eradicate Hamas from Gaza.

“We are taking this building amidst the current and renewed wave of the student intifada, following the uprising of student action for Palestine after the heroic victory of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th,” the group said in a manifesto. “The University of Washington is a direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its allegiance to its partnership with Boeing. Boeing manufactures the F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, Hellfire missiles, and 500 pound bombs which israel [sic] uses to murder entire Palestinian families and destroy Palestinian homes, schools, and mosques.”

University of Washington and Boeing have what the school describes as a “long-standing partnership” for the research and development of aerospace technology.

“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 on Monday,” university assistant vice president for communications said in a statement, issued on Monday, which addressed the occupation of the IEB. “The university will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and all continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms.”

The illegal demonstration involved students establishing blockades near the building using “bike rack[s] and chairs,” burning trash — while setting off sizable fires — that they then left unattended, and calling for violence against the police.

Law enforcement officers eventually entered the building equipped with riot gear, including helmets and batons, and proceeded to arrest over two dozen protesters.

About 30 individuals who occupied the building were arrested and charges of trespassing, property destruction, and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit all three, according to law enforcement.

University of Washington is not the first school to quell an attempt to establish a pro-Hamas encampment this semester. Swarthmore College did so on Saturday, securing the arrest of nine students and non-students who spearheaded the effort.

According to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College’s independent campus newspaper, the encampment was stationed by Students for Justice in Palestine, a campus group which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations, on last Wednesday evening in an attempt to “revive” similar demonstrations staged last year. Naming the encampment the “Hossam Shabat Liberated Zone,” SJP called on its supporters to “escalate” and establish a “site of colonial resistence” [sic] from which to demand divestment from companies holding economic ties to Israel.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.