Trump administration launches antisemitism probe into UW following protest

UPDATE: The Trump administration is launching a probe into University of Washington after Monday’s protests, three U.S. departments announced in a statement Tuesday.

The statement from the federal "Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism" alleged protesters were violent, antisemitic, and shouted death threats at law enforcement. The Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and the U.S. General Services Administration are involved.

“No institution that tolerates violence, harassment, or the open intimidation of Jewish students should expect to receive billions in taxpayer support,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in the statement.

It follows similar investigations at Columbia and Harvard.

The task force's statement also applauded UW’s “strong statement condemning last night’s violence" and "the quick action by law enforcement officers to remove violent criminals from the university campus.”

ORIGINAL STORY: Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators to appear in court after occupying UW building

Thirty-one protesters who occupied the University of Washington’s new engineering building were arrested Monday night, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The protesters blocked entrances to the building and lit nearby dumpsters on fire, according to UW officials. They focused on the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building because it was built with a $10-million donation from Boeing, which was the top U.S. manufacturer of missiles and munitions delivered to Israel in recent years.

Protesters hung banners and projected words on the building’s walls seeking to rename it after a software engineering student in Gaza who reportedly burned alive inside a hospital targeted by the Israeli military last year.

RELATED: Boeing was top U.S. manufacturer of missiles and munitions delivered to Israel from 2021-2023

It was unclear as of Tuesday morning how many protesters were students; documents seem to show one is a former King County public defender and another was on UW's dean's list last year. Five were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, and 26 on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the King County prosecuting attorney told KUOW.

A probable cause statement from the UW Police Department said the occupied building was locked down after officers arrived Monday night and saw a large group of protesters wearing all black and moving "items" in and out of the building to block the doors. UWPD called for aid from the Seattle Police Department and Washington State Patrol.

Protesters "created a dangerous environment in and around the building," a UW spokesperson wrote in a statement.

In an email to UW staff and students Tuesday, UW President Ana Mari Cauce said the protesters also vandalized the building and blocked the streets "to delay firefighters' access."

"Instead of engaging in negotiations with protesters, UW sent dozens of cops in riot gear to brutalize students," a group organizing the protest, Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return, or SUPER UW, wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

RELATED: University of Washington students join pro-Palestinian campus protest movement

But first appearance documents from police say a UW vice president attempted to negotiate a solution to the protest and was turned away by the protesters.

"This was no peaceful protest in support of Palestinian rights or against the war in Gaza," Cauce said in her statement. "The University will not be intimidated by this sort of horrific and destructive behavior and will not engage in dialogue with any group using or condoning such destructive tactics."

Cauce also called out SUPER UW for calling Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a "heroic victory" in a Medium post published on Monday. The post also explained the group's reasons for occupying the engineering building.

The university suspended SUPER UW last year for vandalism during a protest at the Husky Union Building. Suspension means SUPER UW doesn’t have access to resources other student groups can access but doesn't mean they can't have public gatherings, a university spokesperson told UW's student newspaper.

Cauce said King County jail staff are working to identify those who were arrested, but at the moment, "we do not know how many are UW students or community members."

President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw federal funding from universities that allow protests supporting Gaza, and federal agents have jailed a number of pro-Palestinian protesters in other states.

A previous version of this story said police made 32 arrests, based on a statement from the King County prosecuting attorney's spokesperson; the spokesperson later revised that number down to 31.

A previous version of this story also said a King County public defender was among those arrested; Sam Sueoka has not worked at King County's Department of Public Public Defense for several months, according to a spokesperson for the department.

RELATED: Trump is revoking visas. Students, post-grads in Seattle worry they'll be targeted for supporting Gaza