Microsoft Headquarters Sees Arrest of 18 Protesters

A total of 18 members of the pro-Palestinian organization No Azure for Apartheid were taken into custody while participating in a protest at Microsoft's headquarters, expressing their opposition to the company's business dealings with Israel. The arrests occurred on August 20, 2025, during the second day of protests at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus. Protesters, including current and former Microsoft employees, as well as members of the pro-Palestinian community, re-established a 'Liberation Zone' in the East Campus Plaza, which they referred to as the Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza, after being dispersed by law enforcement the previous day. According to a post on Instagram by No Azure for Apartheid, dated August 21, 2025, protesters set up tents, displayed artwork honoring Palestinian martyrs, and delivered speeches about Microsoft's role in the surveillance and genocide of Palestinians. However, the protest escalated around 12:15 pm, with No Azure for Apartheid alleging that Microsoft and the Redmond Police retaliated against their peaceful opposition with mass arrests, chemical weapons, and physical violence. The group claimed on Instagram that current and former employees, as well as community members, were hog-tied, dragged violently, and pepper-sprayed in a repressive escalation. No Azure for Apartheid stated that Microsoft and the Redmond Police chose to dehumanize, brutalize, and criminalize people of conscience for opposing the company's alleged war crimes. The group's statement continued, 'Despite today's brutal repression, let us be clear: no violence will successfully shut down our escalation efforts against Microsoft's complicity in war crimes. The Worker Intifada is a response to Gaza's call for action, and it will continue.' In a post on X, dated August 21, 2025, the Redmond Police Department confirmed the 18 arrests and claimed that after initially attempting to remove the protesters, they resisted and became aggressive. The police department alleged that some protesters poured paint over the Microsoft sign and on the ground, while others blocked a pedestrian bridge and used stolen tables and chairs from vendors to form a barrier. The 18 arrests were reportedly for multiple charges, including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction, but the Redmond Police claimed no injuries were reported. A Microsoft spokesperson stated, '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 that it is pursuing a thorough and independent review of new allegations regarding the use of its Azure platform in Israel. No Azure for Apartheid is a movement of Microsoft employees demanding that the company end its direct and indirect complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide. The group specifically demands that Microsoft cut ties with Israel, end the genocide and forced starvation in Palestine, pay reparations to Palestinians, and end discrimination against workers. Over 2,000 Microsoft employees have signed the No Azure for Apartheid petition, which demands that the company cut all ties with the Israeli Army and conduct a third-party independent audit of its contracts, services, and products to ensure they are not involved in any human rights violations. Earlier this month, members of the Arkane Studios STJV union expressed their support for the group and the petition in an open letter to Microsoft and its subsidiaries. In May, Microsoft conducted an internal review following claims that its Azure and AI technologies were being used by the Israel Ministry of Defence to target civilians or cause harm in the conflict in Gaza. At the time, Microsoft acknowledged providing the Israel Ministry of Defence with software, professional services, Azure cloud, and AI services but claimed its review found no evidence that these technologies had been used to target or harm people in the ongoing Gaza conflict. In a recent statement, No Azure for Apartheid refuted Microsoft's claims and explained that it is protesting at Microsoft's headquarters to escalate against the company's active role in powering 22 months of genocide in Palestine. The statement read, 'For 22 months, Microsoft enabled, accelerated, and profited from the genocide while repeatedly silencing and retaliating against its workers who spoke out against its immoral and illegal genocide-profiteering business practices.' The statement added, 'It has become clear to us: Microsoft's claims of being a moral company are a facade. They will not change their ways because it is the right thing to do; they will continue to exploit our labor to directly enable apartheid, power genocide through tech weapons in the form of Cloud and AI, and abet the starvation campaign in Gaza; in other words, they will only divest from the economy of occupation and genocide when not doing so hurts their bottom line.'