According to the police, throughout the protest, some staff stole tables and chairs from distributors and used them as barricades to dam a pedestrian bridge.
Protestors poured crimson paint over the Microsoft signal. (X/@RedmondWaPD)
“18 arrested for varied expenses throughout a protest at Microsoft Campus. Redmond police are on the scene of an indication on the Microsoft campus. On Aug 20, round 12:15 p.m., Redmond officers have been dispatched to a big gathering of protestors within the Microsoft courtyard,” the division wrote.
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The police tweeted that when officers initially tried to trespass the protestors, they resisted and have become aggressive. “A couple of protesters had poured paint over the Microsoft signal and on the bottom.”
Amid the chaos, some protesters blocked a pedestrian bridge utilizing stolen tables and chairs from distributors, as per the police. They used the furnishings as barricades.
“Officers took 18 into custody for a number of expenses, together with trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction. No accidents have been reported,” the division added.
Redmond Police Department shared three photos, one displaying crimson paint scattered throughout a Microsoft signal.
“Today, the group returned and engaged in vandalism and property harm,” Microsoft mentioned in an announcement, reported Bloomberg. “They additionally disrupted, harassed, and took tables and tents from native small companies at a lunchtime farmer’s marketplace for staff.”
“Microsoft deeply appreciates and helps the actions of native legislation enforcement officers and the Redmond Police Department,” the corporate mentioned in its assertion.
Why did the staff protest?
As per Bloomberg, the staff have been protesting concerning the software program firm’s enterprise ties with Israel. The outlet reported that the group behind the protest, No Azure for Apartheid, desires the corporate to cease promoting their merchandise to Israel, claiming that the know-how is contributing to deaths in Gaza.
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In a May weblog submit, Microsoft said that it had “discovered no proof up to now that Microsoft’s Azure and AI applied sciences have been used to focus on or hurt individuals within the battle in Gaza.”
“As now we have made clear, Microsoft is dedicated to its human rights requirements and contractual phrases of service, together with within the Middle East,” the corporate mentioned in a current assertion.









