King County public defender among 30 arrested after Antifa occupation of University of Washington building

On Monday, authorities arrested more than 30 individuals who seized and occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building at the University of Washington to protest Israel and its war against Hamas terrorists. Among those arrested was a King County public defender and several affiliates of the left-wing extremist group Antifa. All of them were booked into local jails on criminal trespassing charges, with a bail set at $1,000, according to records.

It's unclear if the apprehended individuals were students and/or outside agitators. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said in a statement that more than two dozen protesters have been charged with gross misdemeanor offenses, and several of them have had initial court appearances. The majority of the protesters have already been released from custody, jail records show.

The University of Washington campus police released the names of the individuals who were taken into custody, identifying them as: Cade Jackson; Catherine Marie Brown; Claire "Jamie" Elizabeth Berger; Jonas Simms Piper; Brett Anthony Anton; Ricardo Colon-Galvez; Ty Olson Park; Lucy Belle Zern; Tayler Christine Hart; Kimaya Mahajan; Lea Keating; Roberta Lee Collison; Jade Chen Wu; Julia Claire Fraczek; Luisa Guadalupe Ortega Subdiaz; Yafate Yared; Ella Chenai Tunduwani; Akira Lynn Junyaprusert; Jessica Shutz; Giner Ann Newberry; Yasmin Ponsakaew Ahmed; Gina Sijia Liu; Bailey Cunningham Keen; Sam Sueoka; Finn Oliver Brown; Max Rulff; and Iman Tasbeet.

Sam Sueoka, one of the arrested individuals, has been identified as a King County public defender who has represented criminal anti-Israel protesters in the past. The KC Public Defenders Office declined to comment.

Tayler Hart, another individual who was taken into custody, works as a nurse at Harborview Medical Center in downtown Seattle, according to online records.

Around 5:30 pm, a group of black clad militants, concealing their identities behind masks, occupied the engineering building and hung a banner from the second-floor window that featured a painting of a teenage engineering student, Shaban al-Dalou, who was killed by an airstrike in Gaza. The protesters involved with the pro-Palestinian suspended student group, Super UW, renamed the building after him and demanded that the university cut ties with Boeing over the company's role in manufacturing military weapons that have been transferred to Israel.

Outside the building, Antifa militants and left-wing agitators equipped in riot gear formed a line to block the street while holding makeshift shields, which included Antifa insignias. Around 10 pm, the group set several dumpsters and objects on fire to form a barricade. Approximately 40 minutes later, authorities arrived on the scene, extinguished the fire, and issued dispersal orders via loudspeaker.

Several law enforcement agencies, including Seattle Police, Washington State Patrol, and UW Police, conducted a joint operation to remove the protesters from inside the building that lasted for several hours. Video footage captured by The Post Millennial shows riot officers removing barricades, breaching the building, and then walking out with dozens of detained protesters. The apprehended individuals were placed in a police vehicle and hauled off to jail.

According to a police report, UW Vice President Sally Clark "attempted to contact the group and negotiate a solution to the protest" but was "turned away by the protesters," which resulted in police making arrests and regaining control of the building.

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, UW President Ana Marie Cauce condemned the occupation, saying it was "no peaceful protest" but rather a "dangerous, violent, and illegal" act.

"The University will not be intimidated by this sort of horrific and destructive behavior and will not engage in dialogue with any group using or condoning such destructive tactics. We will continue our actions to oppose antisemitism, racism, and all forms of biases so that ALL our students, faculty, staff, and visitors can feel safe and welcome on our campuses," she said. "King County jail staff are working to identify the roughly 30 people who were arrested, so at the moment we do not know how many are UW students or community members. We are working with law enforcement and through our own disciplinary processes to ensure those responsible face appropriate consequences for their actions."

The University of Washington faced criticism in the spring of 2024 for allowing an anti-Israel Gaza encampment to thrive on campus. Cauce gave in to the mob at the time, but has since issued new guidelines aimed at preventing antisemitism on campus. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from the university due to its anti-Israel direct actions.