Activists planted ‘listening devices,’ sought floor plans for occupation of Microsoft president’s office

“Obviously, when seven folks do as they did today, storm a building, occupy an office, lock other people out of the office, plant listening devices even in crude form, in the form of telephones, cell phones hidden under couches and behind books, that’s not okay,” Smith told reporters. “When they’re asked to leave and they refuse, that’s not okay. That’s why the Redmond police literally had to take them out of the building.”

Smith disclosed that Microsoft had advance warning of a possible attempt to infiltrate Building 34, which houses top executives, including himself.

“We did get a report yesterday afternoon from an employee that someone from the activist group No Azure for Apartheid was calling around and seeking a floor plan of this floor,” Smith said. “So obviously one way or another, they figured out how to get in. We’ll adapt our security accordingly. We obviously need to keep our facilities safe and secure.”

Smith said during a press conference that seven protesters were arrested after barricading themselves inside Smith’s office. Two were current Microsoft employees, and one was a former Google worker.

The activists from the radical No Azure For Apartheid group, “renamed” the building the “Mai Ubeid Building,” referencing a Palestinian software engineer killed in Gaza. They released balloons with noisemakers into the atrium, unfurled banners listing demands, and delivered a “symbolic summons” accusing Smith of human rights violations.

Their demands included cutting ties with Israel, demanded a “Call for an end to the genocide and forced starvation,” pay “reparations to the Palestinians,” and “end discrimination against workers.”

Smith, however, stressed the difference between lawful protest and criminal conduct. “We respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys, as long as they do it lawfully. But if people engage in vandalism, if they storm buildings, if they occupy offices, if they create threats to others, that’s different. And I don’t think that’s a profound principle. That’s just common sense.”

The sit-in was part of ongoing protests at Microsoft’s campus in opposition to the tech company doing business with Israel. On Wednesday, activists escalated to vandalism, pouring paint over a Microsoft sign, blocking a pedestrian bridge, and attempting to build barricades with stolen tables and chairs. Police said protesters resisted officers and “became aggressive.”

A Microsoft spokesperson stressed most of those arrested had no ties to the company, despite claiming otherwise. “Of the 20 people arrested during yesterday’s incident, only one is a current Microsoft employee, and only three are former employees previously terminated for similar conduct. Almost all of those arrested yesterday, including some carrying fake company ID cards, have never worked at Microsoft.”

Microsoft has become a frequent target of anti-Israel and anti-war activists because of its major contracts with the US Department of Defense and intelligence agencies. The company provides cloud, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence services to the Pentagon, including through its multibillion-dollar Azure Government platform.

Smith acknowledged that much of Microsoft’s work in Israel centers on cybersecurity operations tied to the Israeli military and its coordination with other U.S.-allied governments in the Middle East. Activists argue those same capabilities make Microsoft complicit in military operations in Gaza.

Smith emphasized that Microsoft remains committed to maintaining dialogue with employees across backgrounds, including groups representing Jewish staff, Palestinian allies, and Middle East and North Africa workers, while protecting the integrity of its operations. “This company was built and stands today on a culture of trust with our employees, of open dialogue with our employees. That matters deeply,” Smith said. “We read what they say, we meet with them, and we will sustain that kind of dialogue. It is literally the life blood of this company.”

Still, he underscored that Microsoft is “not a government, it’s a company,” and its role is to uphold contractual obligations, including those with the US military, and human rights standards, while ensuring the safety of employees.

“We need to keep our workplace safe and secure,” Smith said. “We need to keep our employees secure while we honor the freedom of expression that is a hallmark of this country. That’s our job. We’ll do our job well.”

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg News reported that Microsoft had asked the FBI and local police to help track and contain who showed up over the weekend on kayaks in front of the Lake Washington homes of the tech giant’s CEO Satya Nadella and Smith. A director of investigations reportedly told the bureau, “One of our former employees in particular, Hossam Nasr, has been quite active in his posts targeting Microsoft and that we are complicit in genocide.”

Hossam Nasr (Mabed) is a prominent figure in Seattle's pro-Hamas movement. He was fired last October after leading a protest on campus which resulted in vandalism. He has repeatedly referred to his former employer “an evil Zionist corporation facilitating and empowering a genocide.” Nasr has a long record of radical activism. Microsoft insiders told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that he was notorious for antisemitic vitriol and was the subject of internal investigations.

Last year, he was arrested for disrupting a University of Washington (UW) Board of Regents meeting discussing campus antisemitism. Jewish students, faculty, and board members had to be escorted out after anti-Israel activists led by Nasr seized control of the room. In May, witnesses spotted Nasr on the UW campus tipping over a dumpster and setting it on fire the night antisemitic radicals and antifa militants caused over to the university's new engineering building that was sponsored in part by Boeing.