University of Washington announces punishments for students accused in building takeover

The University of Washington stated it has suspended and banned 21 students who were allegedly part of this week's takeover and vandalism of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in an effort to force the college to end its partnership with Boeing.

"Thirty-four individuals were arrested and are subject to criminal prosecution and university disciplinary processes. The 21 students who were arrested have been suspended and banned from all UW campuses. Non-student participants will be banned from the UW’s Seattle campus," UW said.

'Whether something meets the definition of domestic terrorism — I don't know exactly what that definition is — but this is obviously a serious situation.'

The punishments come after the Trump administration's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism had initiated a review of federal grants and contracts at UW. While anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protesters on college campuses had greater freedom to carry out their attacks with little consequences under the Biden-Harris administration, that appears to be at an end under President Donald Trump. UW pledged that the school's personnel will "cooperate with the Task Force’s review and are confident that an evaluation will find we are in compliance with federal civil rights laws."

"The University of Washington condemns anti-Semitism, harassment, and discrimination. Throughout the May 5th incident, the UW was in contact with campus and Seattle Jewish community leaders. We value these partnerships and understand their deep concern. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle issued a public statement noting the University’s swift response and clear denunciation of anti-Semitism," UW added.

Fires were started, and much of the engineering equipment inside the building was damaged or destroyed, costing over $1 million in damages. Militants alleged to be Antifa further prevented first responders from putting out the fires and stopped law enforcement officers who responded from entering the building. Once additional officers arrived, they were able to force their way in and remove the occupiers.

As for local leadership, there has been a lack of forceful condemnation from either Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (D) or Washington Governor Bob Ferguson (D).

When asked by KOMO-TV about the chaotic event, Ferguson was at first "reluctant to enter the debate" but said he believed the protesters will be held accountable.

"Whether something meets the definition of domestic terrorism — I don't know exactly what that definition is — but this is obviously a serious situation," Ferguson continued, adding that the federal task force probe is not unusual since the federal government is "investigating just about everybody these days."

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