33 charged in occupation and vandalism of UW engineering building

Thirty-three people have been charged with first-degree misdemeanor criminal trespass in King County District Court after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a University of Washington engineering building last May, leaving nearly $1 million in damage, including smashed lab equipment.

A UW Police Department investigation failed to determine which of the protesters committed the vandalism, said Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. McNerthney said without that evidence, felony charges — including burglary — were impossible.

The seeming lenience of the misdemeanor trespass charges has drawn criticism from some in the public who are questioning the validity of the investigation and prosecution, McNerthney said.

“Whenever you have a case like this, there's a lot of emotions involved” he said. “Sometimes what the law requires — and what we have as admissible evidence — are different.”

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“The groups from our office who have looked at it are our mainstream criminal division, the appellate unit, the special operations unit, violent crimes, economic crimes, and several other prosecutors, ” McNerthney added. “And we just don't see any way to prove a felony crime.”

Protesters in the May 5, 2025, occupation called on the UW to cut ties with Boeing, which is a supplier of the Israeli army. Boeing provided $10 million in funding for the recently-opened, $90 million Interdisciplinary Engineering Building.

Twenty-one UW students were banned from campus after the protest, which spurred an antisemitism investigation by the Trump administration.

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In a statement, University of Washington officials said they were “pleased” to see criminal charges after the protest.

“This is an important step in ensuring accountability for those who perpetrated this occupation, in addition to the suspensions that the students arrested in the building received through the student conduct process,” the UW said. “We value free speech and expression but also must continue to be a campus community where dangerous, unlawful actions are not tolerated.”

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"These charges will not dampen our fight," Noah Weight, a spokesperson for Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return, or SUPER-UW, the youth and student organization that organized the protest, said in a statement.

"It is becoming more and more clear to people why these 33 students and community members took a stand against the militarization of our campuses, against the genocide in Palestine, and against the bloody relationship between UW and Boeing," Weight said.

A UW hearing officer allowed the 21 suspended student protesters to re-enroll last December, and found that the UWPD investigative findings did not warrant further sanctions.