Microsoft Headquarters Go Into Lockdown After Activists Take Over Brad Smith’s Office

Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond office connected Monday and made it into president Brad Smith’s agency successful Building 34, forcing a impermanent lockdown. The “No Azure for Apartheid” group reportedly live-streamed their sit-in connected Twitch, hoisting banners, chanting ‘Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!’ and posting a mock ineligible summons charging Smith pinch “crimes against humanity.”

According to The Verge, nan protestation included some progressive Microsoft workers and erstwhile labor who’ve been fired for erstwhile activism. Monday’s escalation follows months of protests complete Microsoft’s unreality contracts pinch Israel, including caller arrests astatine institution headquarters.

TechCrunch has reached retired to Microsoft for remark astir nan incident and will update nan article if nan institution responds.

A caller Guardian investigation revealed Israel uses Microsoft’s services to shop information from millions of calls each time made by Palestinians successful Gaza and nan West Bank.

Today’s firm takeover mirrors strategies from Google labor much than a twelvemonth ago. In April 2024, 9 Google workers staged coordinated protests crossed New York and California offices, pinch 5 occupying Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s agency for 9 hours. They wrote demands connected his whiteboard and wore “Googler against genocide” shirts.

The Google protesters targeted Project Nimbus, a $1.2 cardinal statement pinch Amazon that provides Israel’s authorities and subject pinch unreality computing and AI tools. The employees’ sit-ins and arrests were likewise live-streamed connected Twitch; 3 days later, 28 labor progressive successful those protests were fired.