Police officers arrested 18 people demonstrating in a pro-Palestine protest outside of Microsoft’s global headquarters in Washington state.
The tech giant’s HQ in Redmond, just north of Seattle, saw two consecutive days of protests since Tuesday as demonstrators called for Microsoft to cease its business ties with Israel immediately and demanded the company pay reparations to the Palestinian people.
Redmond police said officers were dispatched to a large gathering of protestors in the Microsoft courtyard, outside the HQ, on Wednesday at around 12:15 p.m.
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“Officers initially attempted to trespass the protestors, but they resisted and became aggressive,” the Redmond Police Department said. Images posted online by the department showed the Microsoft sign drenched in red paint.
“Every day for the past 22 months, the Israeli military has used Microsoft technology to starve and bomb Palestinians in Gaza, while actively displacing Palestinians in an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing,” a statement posted by the organization No Azure for Apartheid wrote on X.
Last week, Microsoft said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage," the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises “precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.” The tech giant said it would share the findings after law firm Covington & Burling completes its review.
A group of current and former Microsoft employees are believed to have organized the protest, The Verge reported Tuesday.
Around 50 people were said to be in attendance when the event began. The group cordoned off site areas, naming one the “Liberated Zone” encampment, while standing with a banner outside the East Campus Plaza that read “The Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza.”
A statement posted by the organization said the “peaceful” demonstration was interrupted by a “brutal mass arrest,” involving “physical violence.”
Videos posted on social media of the scene showed protesters being wrestled to the ground and dragged away from the courtyard.
“Get back or you’re gonna get sprayed,” a Redmond police officer is heard threatening in one clip.
One male protestor is heard saying, “Why the f*** did you shoot me, bro?, to a police officer.
“In response to this peaceful opposition to war crimes, Microsoft and Redmond Police retaliated against protestors with the brutal mass arrest of 18 protestors, chemical weapons, and physical violence,” No Azure for Apartheid wrote on X Thursday.
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“Current workers, former workers, and community members were hog-tied, violently dragged, and pepper-sprayed in a repressive escalation. Microsoft and Redmond Police chose to dehumanize, brutalize, and criminalize people of conscience for opposing Microsoft's ACTUAL war crimes.”
Redmond police said other demonstrators had blocked a pedestrian bridge and “were using stolen tables and chairs from vendors to form a barrier.”
Eighteen people were taken into custody for multiple charges, which included trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction. No injuries were reported from the scene.
A Microsoft spokesperson told The Independent: “On Tuesday, 35 protesters gathered and protested on the Microsoft campus. When local police officers informed them that this was not permitted on private property, they left. On Wednesday, the group returned and engaged in vandalism and property damage.
“They also disrupted, harassed, and took tables and tents from local small businesses at a lunchtime farmer’s market for employees. Local police officers made multiple arrests. Microsoft deeply appreciates and supports the actions of local law enforcement officers and the Redmond Police Department.
“As we have made clear, Microsoft is committed to its human rights standards and contractual terms of service, including in the Middle East. The company announced last week that it is pursuing a thorough and independent review of new allegations first reported earlier this month about the purported use of its Azure platform in Israel.”
Microsoft has faced ongoing criticism from pro-Palestine supporters over its continued work with Israel.
At the company’s 50th anniversary celebration in April, a software engineer in the company’s AI division interrupted Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s speech, calling for an end to an agreement that allows the Israeli military to use the company’s AI products.
After months of facing mounting pressure from activists, employees, and the public, Microsoft said it had found no evidence to support such claims.
“Based on these reviews, including interviewing dozens of employees and assessing documents, we have found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.”
In July, the United Nations released a report mapping the corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its war on Gaza, in breach of international law. The report named 48 corporate actors, including the triad of tech companies, Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., and Amazon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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