Microsoft locked down a building at its Redmond headquarters after protesters entered the office of company president Brad Smith. Current and former employees held a sit-in inside Building 34 demanding Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government. Protesters livestreamed entry on Twitch, unfurled banners, attached noisemakers to balloons, and displayed a notice summoning Bradford Lee Smith on charges of crimes against humanity. Organizers named include Abdo Mohamed and No Azure for Apartheid, and participants included Riki Fameli, Anna Hattle, Vaniya Agrawal, Hossam Nasr, and Joe Lopez. Recent related protests led to arrests and disruptions at company events over cloud contracts with Israel.
The protesters live streamed themselves on Twitch entering Building 34, a building that houses Microsoft executives, and heading to Smith's office, before unfurling banners during the sit-in protest. "Brad Smith you can't hide, you're supporting genocide!" shouted some of the protesters inside Smith's office. Noisemakers were also been attached to balloons in the entrance of Building 34. One notice reads "The People's Court Summons Bradford Lee Smith on Charges of Crimes Against Humanity."
This latest protest comes less than a week after a Microsoft employee was arrested at the company's headquarters. Anna Hattle, a Microsoft software engineer, was arrested along with former Microsoft workers Agrawal, Nasr, and Lopez last week after Redmond police claimed some protestors "became aggressive" during a protest at a plaza in Microsoft's headquarters. The No Azure for Apartheid group has been organizing a series of protests over Microsoft's cloud contracts with the Israeli government in recent months.
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