Microsoft Headquarters Locked Down as Activists Occupy Brad Smith’s Office

Protesters took over Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond on August 26, 2025, as part of a demonstration against the company’s cloud contracts with Israel. During the protest, members of the group "No Azure for Apartheid" gained access to president Brad Smith’s office, prompting a temporary lockdown of the building. The activists streamed their sit-in on Twitch while displaying banners and chanting slogans such as “Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!” They also presented a mock legal summons against Smith, accusing him of “crimes against humanity.”

The protest included both current Microsoft employees and former staff members who had previously been dismissed for their activism. This escalation followed months of demonstrations regarding Microsoft’s contracts, which were initiated by recent arrests at the company’s headquarters. A recent investigation by The Guardian highlighted how the Israeli military utilizes Microsoft’s services to manage data from Palestinian phone calls in Gaza and the West Bank.

This incident echoes similar protests by Google employees in April 2024, where nine workers occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian to voice opposition against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with Israel that delivers cloud computing and AI solutions to the military. Those sit-ins also attracted media attention when some participants were later fired for their involvement.

For more information on the ongoing situation, see The Verge and The Guardian.

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