(NewsNation) — Protests on the University of Washington’s campus grew intense Monday night as pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police.
The protesters occupied a campus building, demanding the university cut ties with Boeing over its role in supplying weapons for the war in Gaza. Police ended up making dozens of arrests in the protest.
A group called Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return claims to be behind the campus building occupation, which was UW’s new engineering building. Boeing helped fund the new facility, and protesters want the school to cut the financial and educational ties to the company, one of America’s largest defense manufacturers.
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The occupation lasted several hours with blockades and dumpster fires, and it ended with police storming the building and making 30 arrests.
“The University will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and will continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms,” UW spokesperson Victor Balta said in a statement.
The protest and swift action to end it comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on student protesters and universities that allow pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
It’s estimated that more than 1,800 college protesters have either been deported, had their visas revoked, or had their immigration status changed.
The individuals arrested in the UW protest Monday face charges of trespassing, property destruction, disorderly conduct and conspiracy to commit all three offenses. It is not known how many of the people arrested were UW students, and among those, how many were international students.
