SEATTLE — Clean-up crews are trying to rub out graffiti and salvage paintings after a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Washington led to property damage Thursday night.
The UW United Front for Palestinian Liberation organized a sit-in at the Husky Union Building (HUB) after hosting a rally outside. According to staff at the HUB, dozens of protesters stayed inside the building after it closed and scrawled pro-Palestinian taggings on various walls of the building.
Heavy-duty tape was also placed on artwork. Campus staff said they are working with experts to salvage the paintings.
The protesters gathered to call for the university to divest from Israel, cut ties with Boeing, and end what the group termed the anti-Palestinian repression of students, workers, and faculty, according to a press release emailed to KOMO News.
The damage occurred while the protesters remained in the closed building. The group left sometime before the HUB reopened Friday morning.
Work crews could be seen scouring walls to remove the graffiti on Friday afternoon.
A lieutenant with the UW Police was unable to say if any arrests were made. A UW spokesperson told KOMO News he was working to gather more information.