The Seattle Police Department reported property damage during an anti-Israel march on Oct. 7, during which protesters entered the Seattle Central College campus waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Take another soldier out” and “Long live Oct. 7.”
Protesters participating in campus walkouts marched to Cal Anderson Park in Seattle on Wednesday, the third anniversary of Oct. 7. According to police, as the group moved toward the park, there were “reports of minor property damage including tagging of buildings.”
Seattle Central College is a public school.
“Officers have identified the suspects and will make arrests when it is safe to do so,” the police department stated. “Due to the ongoing property destruction and other reported crimes, officers have activated their body-worn video.”
Anti-Israel groups planned walkouts at middle schools, high schools and colleges across Washington state. Bev Redmond, chief of staff at Seattle Public Schools, told JNS on Wednesday that “our expectation is that students will be in school as classes are proceeding as regularly scheduled.”
The public school district provided each school with a sample letter to send to families and staff stating that “students are expected to be in school” and that “absences related to protests are unexcused.”
At the University of Washington, where the march was set to begin at noon on the Quad, the group UW Jewish Alumni reported that some 20 protesters were present. The alumni group said that protesters held posters honoring Hamas operatives and suicide bombers.
The United States has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997.
“Small doesn’t mean harmless,” the alumni group stated, accusing protesters of using amplified sound while classes were in session.
