The defendants, a group of mostly UW students known as the UW 33, were arrested last May after occupying the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) to protest the university's ties to Boeing, a major weapons manufacturer. The University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) initially sought felony burglary and malicious mischief charges, citing nearly $1 million in damages to the building and equipment.

But earlier this year, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO) declined to pursue felonies after an investigation found no physical evidence conclusively linking any of the suspects to the damage. Prosecutors noted that a UWPD email describing one group as having "carried out the property damage" while referring to those arrested as a "second group—the occupiers" would likely undermine the state's case. UWPD also reported that approximately 75 demonstrators were present, meaning most were never identified or charged.

Prosecutors instead charged all 33 with misdemeanor trespass for being in a public university building after hours. As of this week, 31 defendants have accepted stipulated orders of continuance (SOC), which require them to comply with certain conditions for a year in exchange for dismissal of charges. The remaining defendants are scheduled for hearings soon.

"This outcome is a WIN for the UW 33, a win for the Palestine movement, and an important step in the fight against repression," members of the UW 33 said in a statement. They described the result as "proof of the failure of a coordinated attack between the university, local media, police forces, and federal pressure to prosecute the UW 33 on felony charges."

Sam Sueoka, a non-student defendant and attorney, said the prosecution's inability to secure more than an SOC represents a significant victory. "I think it's a victory for the movement that the state, despite all their resources, could only get an SOC," he said. "That's a huge victory that no one is being sent to jail, and that ultimately, these cases are gonna get dismissed in a year."

However, Sueoka criticized one SOC condition barring "assaultive or harassing behavior" as overly broad and chilling free speech. "If I'm at a protest and I'm yelling at an ICE officer for kidnapping someone, does this violate the SOC?" he asked. He described the agreements as "a way to surveil and control 33 people for 12 more months."

Defendants also reported lasting injuries from their arrests. Sueoka said he suffered a concussion and nerve damage from tight zip ties, requiring physical therapy. Maddie Keating said she suffered a shoulder dislocation resulting in tendinopathy and bursitis, as well as multiple joint dislocations. "There's just a lot of unnecessary harm that was done that didn't need to be done," said Keating's attorney, Sadé Smith.

Roberta Collison said she lost her campus job and health insurance after being suspended from UW, and is being forced to pay tuition for a quarter taken from her. "Universities would rather kiss the boot of a fascist than protect their students and their rights," she said.

The UW 33 statement also described reputational damage, including online harassment, death threats, and one family conned into paying a phony bail bond. Far-right group Accuracy in Media created a website targeting defendant Yasmin Ahmed with unproven claims. Judge Kuljinder Dhillon limited media filming of defendants' faces at arraignment after attorneys raised safety concerns, though some outlets continue to publish mugshots.

The case has drawn scrutiny over its scale: dozens of cases, hundreds of hearings, and thousands of pages of court documents. KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney said the misdemeanor cases did not materially increase prosecutors' workload or detract from felony prosecutions, as separate units handle the cases. But defense attorneys argue the resources could have been better spent.

The University of Washington also faced criticism for labeling the protesters antisemitic in a press release, a move denounced by over 300 Jewish students, staff, faculty, and alumni who said it endangered protesters and diluted the meaning of actual antisemitism. The Trump administration subsequently launched a federal antisemitism investigation into UW, and this April, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division authorized another investigation into an off-campus event hosted by the group Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (SUPER).

The UW 33 saga reflects broader tensions over campus activism and the criminalization of protest. For Sueoka, the outcome remains bittersweet. "The police officers who did that to us won't have any form of accountability," he said.