More than 30 anti-Israel demonstrators who occupied a University of Washington engineering building at the end of the spring semester — causing more than $1 million worth of damage — are now being investigated by the university and local attorney’s office for potential criminal charges, Jewish Insider has learned. 

The investigation comes after a recent report put a spotlight on a link between the radical student group that led the takeover and the U.S. designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 

“We have taken this incident very seriously, including having issued emergency suspensions for all students who were arrested in the building and working with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on potential criminal charges,” a University of Washington spokesperson told JI on Wednesday, referring to the demonstration in May in which masked demonstrators blocked entrances and exits to the building and ignited fires in two dumpsters on a street outside. 

The newly constructed engineering building had been partially funded by Boeing, which the student protest group, Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return (SUPER UW), said makes UW a “direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people” due to the IDF’s use of Boeing products. Days later, the university suspended 21 students who were arrested during the anti-Israel protests, a marked shift from the school’s reaction to previous anti-Israel activity. 

The incident also led the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to open a review into the university. 

The Seattle public university’s investigation into criminal charges comes as the Secure Community Network (SCN), a safety and security network for American Jewish communities, found that a manifesto released by SUPER UW — which the student group published on Medium shortly before its building takeover began — was inspired by a foreign terrorist entity. 

The document praised Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel as a “heroic victory” and said the group looks to “the rich history of struggle in our university for strength and inspiration as we take action.” SUPER UW also released a statement of solidarity with the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, a fundraising arm of the terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which was designated as a terror group by the U.S. Treasury Department in October 2024. 

“The fact that this action was inspired by a foreign terrorist entity is gravely concerning and should be an alarm for the broader community,” Solly Kane, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, told JI. “When foreign terrorist organizations are allowed to infiltrate university campuses the implications are significant and we hope the university leadership will continue to follow-up on this incident seriously and with consequences for those responsible, after appropriate due process.”

Miriam Weingarten, co-director of Chabad UW with her husband Rabbi Mendel Weingarten, said she hoped that those responsible for the damage from the May protest would be “held responsible in a way that would deter any future actions.” She said doing so would help Jewish students feel safe and comfortable on campus, and, in the meantime, “Chabad continues to be open as a space for Jewish students to become more confident in their Jewish pride.”

Kerry Sleeper, SCN deputy director of intelligence and information sharing, warned in June at a congressional hearing about the rise of antisemitism that the terror ties associated with UW demonstrators are part of a larger pattern at protests on campuses around the country — claiming that “this is not a protest in the traditional sense; it is an information and intimidation campaign targeting Jewish students and institutions, often through violent tactics.”  

“These trends are fueled by a persistent ecosystem of anti-Israel networks operating in the U.S. and online,” Sleeper said. “Groups such as the Students for Justice in Palestine, Within Our Lifetime, Unity of Fields, and online propaganda hubs such as the emerging ISNAD Network consistently amplify messaging aligned with Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Iranian-backed information operations.” 

“While not all are directly tied to designated foreign terrorist organizations, they help blur the lines between protest and incitement, justifying, glorifying and promoting violence against the Jewish community in the name of Gaza.” 

In a statement to JI, Michael Masters, SCN national director and CEO, said that as students return to campus in the coming weeks, “these threats are not dissipating; they’re evolving.”

“These incidents are not isolated; they are part of a coordinated effort, which has included the circulation of terror toolkits, to intimidate Jewish students and disrupt Jewish life.” 

Masters called for universities to “do more to protect their students and secure Jewish spaces, including allocating the necessary resources and funding for security. Jewish students should never have to choose between their safety and fully participating in campus or religious life.”

In a letter to national Jewish leaders, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee condemned the disruption of a University of Washington Board of Regents meeting earlier this month by anti-Israel demonstrators, who shouted down the CEO of the local Jewish federation. 

Jewish leaders accused the Board of Regents of failing to intervene and allow pro-Israel speakers to address the meeting; the board ultimately cut the meeting short as a result of the disorder.

“Public meetings are an essential democratic tradition, and disrupting such a meeting with fear and intimidation is an attempt to undermine our democracy,” Inslee, a Democrat, said in a letter to Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut and Julie Platt, the organization’s board chair. “This incident must not be repeated.”

Fingerhut and Platt wrote to Inslee earlier this month asking him to respond to what they described as “one of the most vile, outrageous displays of antisemitism to be witnessed at a public meeting in the United States of America in recent memory,” condemning the board for failing to ensure that pro-Israel speakers were allowed to speak and calling for the hecklers to be punished.

Inslee said that he’d spoken to Board of Regents members before even receiving the JFNA letter and “stressed that the public’s expectation, as well as my own, is that the university ensures adequate security so that all speakers may be heard and that all meetings can be held in a safe and orderly fashion.”

He said that the board would hold a special meeting to continue discussion, while also offering some defense of the board’s response: “I recognize that the university adjourned the meeting because the disruptive participants made safe and orderly conduct impossible. This conduct resulted in at least one arrest and the investigation into this incident continues.”

Inslee said that “a review is underway” to ensure that the disruption is not repeated, and is speaking to “community members to hear their views,” including state legislators.

“In Washington state, we reject bigotry, incitement of hatred and demonization of religion. I have

consistently and purposefully condemned anti-Semitism and, as governor, have prioritized the protection of our state employees and institutions from discrimination and violence,” Inslee continued. “We have also stood in defense of democracy in all its forms and in all our public institutions and I will continue to do so.”

Fingerhut said in a statement that he appreciated Inslee’s response.

“What happened at UW was egregious, and we appreciate that Gov. Inslee has been responsive to our community, met with the Jewish Federation in Seattle, and worked to reschedule the event focused on antisemitism on campus,” Fingerhut said. “We can never allow the Jewish community to be shouted down and silenced, especially when we are simply trying to share our experiences and educate about antisemitism.”