WATCH: Pro-Hamas activists at University of Washington take over building while school stays silent

A pro-Hamas group has taken over an academic building at the University of Washington, demanding the university sever all ties with Boeing over the war in Gaza.

The takeover, organized by Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return, began shortly before 5 p.m. Monday in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, where protesters have barricaded entryways and covered their faces, according to the university.

“We want Boeing and other weapons manufacturers out of our educational spaces,” a group spokesperson told Seattle’s KOMO News. Boeing, one of the world’s largest defense contractors, has longstanding ties to UW through research and recruitment.

The university stated that “individuals remaining in the building are trespassing and will face legal and student conduct actions.” School officials noted that all non-protesters had safely left the building.

But the protest has raised deeper concerns after the group was found selling T-shirts that glorify Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel and distributing flyers attributed to the “Hamas Media Office.” The materials included slogans like “A Flood is Coming,” referencing Hamas’ own name for the brutal attacks: “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”

Sigal Buchman, who represents the international Jewish student organization Hillel in efforts to combat antisemitism on campus, said she brought these concerns directly to UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “When I showed her the flyers, she claimed the First Amendment prevented her from restricting speech,” Buchman said. “But she ignored the fact that Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. These shirts and flyers are not protest, they’re incitement and glorification of terrorism.”