Federal Investigation Launched into Antisemitic Violence at University of Washington -

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SEATTLE — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it is launching a federal investigation into incidents of antisemitic violence and harassment at the University of Washington (UW), following a protest that turned chaotic on Monday. The review is being conducted by the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the General Services Administration as part of the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

The protest, led by the student group Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (SUPER), called on UW to sever ties with Boeing due to the aerospace company’s involvement with Israel. Demonstrators occupied an engineering building on campus and reportedly set fire to dumpsters. Local authorities arrested around 30 individuals as law enforcement worked to end the occupation.

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Boeing, which contributed $10 million to UW’s Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in 2022, has become a focal point for student activists criticizing its ties to Israel. Monday’s protest escalated into what federal officials described as a violent and antisemitic incident.

In a statement, the federal departments said the task force’s review is “in response to the eruption of antisemitic harassment and violence,” noting that death threats were allegedly shouted at law enforcement officers during the protest.

“The university must do more to deter future violence and guarantee that Jewish students have a safe and productive learning environment,” the statement read. While the task force acknowledged UW’s swift condemnation of the violence and praised police action, it emphasized that further enforcement and policy changes are needed to prevent similar incidents.

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the events at UW represent “yet another horrifying display of the antisemitic harassment and lawlessness” seen on U.S. campuses. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stressed the investigation’s focus on civil rights, saying, “This isn’t about politics — it’s about whether a federally funded university is upholding the law.”

Neither UW officials nor representatives of SUPER have responded to media inquiries as of Tuesday evening.

The investigation is the latest in a series of federal probes into campus protests across the country, as universities face increasing pressure to respond to politically charged demonstrations related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.