Microsoft headquarters go into lockdown after activists take over Brad Smith's
14 days ago
- #Protest
- #Microsoft
- #Israel
- Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, entering Brad Smith’s office.
- The 'No Azure for Apartheid' group livestreamed their sit-in on Twitch, chanting slogans and posting a mock legal summons.
- Seven protesters were involved, with two being current Microsoft employees and one a former Google employee.
- Redmond police physically removed and arrested all seven protesters on trespassing and obstruction charges.
- Brad Smith stated the protest was unnecessary and distracted from internal dialogues at Microsoft.
- The protest was part of ongoing opposition to Microsoft’s cloud contracts with Israel.
- A Guardian investigation revealed Israel uses Microsoft’s services to store data from Palestinian calls.
- Similar protests occurred at Google offices in 2024, targeting Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with Israel.
- 28 Google employees involved in those protests were later fired.