Bozeman, MT – On March 13, Montana State University students and community members disrupted the “Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Montana” open house held at the EngineWorks building on Montana State University’s Innovation Campus, to protest the university’s ties to military research and surveillance technologies that assist Israel’s war on Iran and the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

The disruption was organized by Students Against Genocide (SAG). The group formed earlier this year in response to MSU’s research relationships with defense agencies and corporations whose technologies contribute to war crimes, surveillance and state violence.

SAG has focused particular attention on MSU’s Innovation Campus, which is operated by the MSU Alumni Foundation and Charter Realty – it hosts research facilities and private corporate tenants involved in war-related work. Among them is the site of Friday’s protest, the EngineWorks building, which hosts companies specializing in intelligence and surveillance technology.

According to SAG, some of these companies have direct links to Israeli military operations. One such tenant, Reveal Technology, confirmed in a public statement in 2024 that its Farsight intelligence software was being used by the Israel Defense Forces.

Shortly after the open house event began, the activists entered the auditorium. Several held Palestinian flags and signs reading “Stop the U.S. war on Iran.”

One protester took the stage with a megaphone and addressed the crowd, saying, “This facility is complicit in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the genocide of the Palestinians. End the war on Iran right now!” Security quickly intervened and pushed the protesters out of the auditorium. As the activists were removed from the building, they continued chanting, “Disclose, divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

After being forced out of the building, the students regrouped on a nearby sidewalk outside the EngineWorks building. There, they continued chanting and holding signs condemning U.S. and Israeli violence against Palestinians and Iran.

During the picket, an Innovation Campus official approached the students and asked them to stop chanting, claiming they should “have respect” for the event being hosted inside. Protesters refused, noting the hypocrisy of demanding “respect” for an event promoting technologies linked to the killing of over 70,000 Palestinians and the missile strike that killed around 150 Iranian schoolgirls in Minab.

One protester and MSU student, Julian Staggs, now faces Student Code of Conduct violation charges for involvement in the protest. When asked about his conduct charges, Staggs stated, “Repression faced by Palestine activists in the U.S. is nothing compared to the repression the people of Palestine face on a daily basis, which is facilitated by technologies developed here. I’m proud to have so many friends and supporters with Students Against Genocide to stand alongside me.”

Students Against Genocide has been organizing throughout the semester to pressure Montana State University to adopt enforceable ethics policies governing military and surveillance research, cut ties with companies connected to genocide, and disclose all research funding sources and corporate partnerships connected to the Innovation Campus.

They say they plan to continue protesting until the university addresses their demands and ends its involvement in research and partnerships that support war and occupation.

#BozemanMT #MT #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement

Bozeman, MT – At Montana State University, Students for a Democratic Society won their campaign to have U.S. Customs and Border Patrol kicked out of the university's spring career fair.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) initiated their campaign on February 12, with a rally calling for the removal of CBP, the agency responsible for the murder of Alex Pretti. Students also did multiple “call-ins” to the university’s Career Office and were planning a protest of the career fair itself, if CBP was allowed to participate.

“Wednesday evening, we heard from Dean of Students Matt Caires that CBP would no longer be attending the career fair.” SDS said in a public statement released on their Instagram, “Through rallying, calling in, contacting employers, and planning a protest at the career fair students made their voice clear: We want CBP out!”

“Data gathered on the death and abuse perpetrated by CBP agents from 2010 to today show that a reported 367 people have died as a result of an encounter with at least one of these federal agents,” said SDS member Evangelia Minadakis at the organization's February 12 rally. “We will not stand to see those around us become mercenaries for these cruel systems, and we will not stand to allow our university to encourage these connections.”

This campaign came after the supposed end of operation Metro Surge, where ICE and CBP entered Minneapolis, in the wake of unsupported claims of widespread fraud, resulting in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and a widespread resistance movement by the people of Minneapolis.

“Due to popular resistance in Minneapolis, ICE and CBP have temporarily pulled back,” SDS said in a public statement, “However, when the enemy retreats, we pursue!”

SDS Vice President Homa Masood stressed the importance of placing continued pressure on ICE and CBP, “While the Trump administration tries to intimidate the people from standing up against these agencies, we instead say that it is right to rebel against ICE, and that only by directly challenging them everywhere they show up, can we put an end to their terror.”

SDS says they plan to continue organizing at MSU and in the Bozeman community for a sanctuary campus and an end to any collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration enforcement.

You can follow Montana State University's SDS chapter’s activities @sdsmontanastate on Instagram.

#BozemanMT #MT #StudentMovement #SDS #Imm8grantRights

Bozeman, MT – On Friday, January 23, students and community members gathered to protest Montana State University’s ties to military research and surveillance technologies connected to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, and demanding the university cut ties with genocide-linked institutions and corporations.

The protest, organized by Students Against Genocide (SAG), took place outside the administrative building, Montana Hall, where attendees held signs condemning U.S.-funded Israeli military operations and called on university leadership to adopt enforceable ethics policies governing research and corporate partnerships.

SAG, a student-led campaign composed of MSU students and Bozeman residents, says the university’s research relationships and leasing practices directly contradict its public mission. As Montana’s land-grant university and an R1 research institution, MSU holds a responsibility to ensure its influence is not used to enable war crimes, mass surveillance, or state violence.

“We are here because what is happening in Gaza is not distant, abstract, or disconnected from our lives,” said Homa Masood, a member of Students Against Genocide, in a speech at the protest. “It is enabled by systems, institutions, and technologies that exist right here – including at universities that claim to stand for knowledge, ethics and human dignity.”

Speakers highlighted the MSU Innovation Campus, which is operated by the MSU Alumni Foundation and Charter Realty and hosts a range of research facilities and private corporate tenants. Among them is the Applied Research Laboratory, a classified research facility conducting defense-related research, as well as private companies specializing in military intelligence and surveillance technology.

According to SAG, MSU conducts research for agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Energy across multiple departments and university-owned facilities. The group’s investigation also identified companies leasing space on the Innovation Campus that develop surveillance and intelligence software used both overseas and domestically.

One such company is Metrea, whose Spectrum Operations division specializes in signals intelligence and military surveillance. SAG says Metrea’s work contributes to the expansion of surveillance infrastructure used in modern warfare, including technologies human rights organizations have linked to Israeli military operations over Gaza.

Another Innovation Campus tenant identified by SAG is Reveal Technology, a surveillance and intelligence modeling firm. In a public statement posted in 2024, Reveal Technology confirmed that its Farsight intelligence software was being used by the Israel Defense Forces. The company also develops surveillance tools, including biometric identification technology, that closely resemble those used by U.S. law enforcement agencies such as ICE.

The protest concluded with SAG outlining three demands: the adoption of enforceable ethics policies governing military and surveillance research; an end to genocide-linked investment and tenancy on the Innovation Campus, and full transparency regarding research funding sources and corporate partnerships.

“To live in a country guilty of collaboration within and direct support of genocide gives us all a duty to resist,” said Julian Staggs, another SAG speaker and president of MSU’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). “Doubly so for students, who have a historical duty to be at the forefront of the struggle against wars. And when U.S.-funded Israeli genocide has destroyed every single school and university in Gaza, places of education ought to speak out.”

SAG is calling on MSU leadership and the MSU Alumni Foundation to publicly respond to these demands and meet with students and community members. Organizers emphasized that they will continue organizing until the university’s actions align with its stated ethical values.

#BozemanMT #MT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Bozeman, MT – On January 25 at 3 p.m., over 1500 people gathered on Main Street in Bozeman to protest in response to the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE, expressing solidarity with Minnesota and demanding that ICE stay out of their town.

Among protesters of all ages, many students attended the rally, some of whom had been participating in Bozeman’s new Students Against Genocide campaign, with even more being newly interested and seeking ways to get involved in activism across Bozeman.

Besides remembering Alex Pretti, the people of Bozeman also demanded justice for Renée Good and Keith Porter, the release of Liam Ramos, and the end of the Trump administration by which the recent injustices have been perpetrated.

On the steps of the Gallatin County Courthouse, community members gave speeches about the recent events.

Julian Staggs from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) told the crowd, “There is no function for this federal agency other than the oppression of immigrants and the American people, oppression that gets turned directly against us. Therefore, ICE serves no service to us, and we must demand its abolition and legalization for every immigrant in America!”

Staggs continued, “We should also know that the federal agents who killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti were not doing that due to a lack of training. They were veteran agents who had been with the agency for years. It is because of the function of this agency to oppress the American people and the immigrant population that they are committing these crimes!”

Homa Masood, another speaker from SDS, said “While we are in grief, we are not here just to grieve. We are not here just to go home and post about it. We are here to build pressure. We are here to disrupt business as usual. We are here to make it impossible for this violence to continue in silence. Change has never come from waiting politely. Change comes when people fill the streets. When people organize together. When people refuse to accept injustice as normal.”

Speakers also gave attention to the Bozeman Police Department, urging them not to follow the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office in collaborating with ICE.

After several speeches, the crowd marched down the sidewalk and across the street, chanting, “No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets!” Many returned to the courthouse to repeat their demands and continue to show their anger against the administration. The afternoon ended with a call for all in attendance to join progressive organizations.

#BozemanMT #MT #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #AlexPretti

Bozeman, MT — Students Against Genocide (SAG) is a student-led campaign by Montana State University members and Bozeman residents. We are united in our opposition to the U.S. sponsored Israeli genocide in Palestine and the use of mass surveillance technologies that enable war crimes, repression, and state violence. We are proud Bobcats and Montanans who are committed to ensuring our university’s actions match its stated values.

As Montana’s land-grant university, MSU holds a public trust to serve the people of this state through education and research to advance the public good. MSU’s recent designation as an R1 research institution reflects our influence and research capacity. Influence comes with the responsibility to uphold ethical standards in where funding comes from, who it partners with, and what kinds of technology are developed under its name.

The MSU Innovation Campus is operated by the MSU Alumni Foundation and Charter Realty and is described as “establishing collaborative programs between institutions and the private sector”. Our investigation uncovered MSU-affiliated facilities and corporate tenants connected to the war industry and to military surveillance operations linked to Gaza. MSU conducts research for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, and other U.S. government agencies across academic departments and MSU-owned facilities, including research connected to the Innovation Campus.

We recognize the value of government partnership regarding research advancements that serve the public good. However, the absence of enforceable ethics policies when such partnerships involve technologies linked to civilian harm is alarming. Universities are not neutral when they build the technical infrastructure that enables state violence. As students, we refuse to accept genocide and mass surveillance as legitimate outcomes of university “innovation”.

The Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) on the Innovation Campus, conducts classified defense research and hosts defense-linked private operations including Metrea’s Spectrum Operations, which specializes in “Signals Intelligence.” SAG is concerned that MSU-affiliated facilities are helping expand military surveillance infrastructure in ways that conflict with our public mission and ethical responsibilities.

Engine Works, is an Innovation Campus building that leases space to private companies including Reveal Technology, a surveillance and intelligence modeling firm. In a public statement posted in 2024, Reveal Technology wrote that it “recently deployed its Farsight intelligence software with elements of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)”. Reveal also develops surveillance tools, such as biometric identification technology, for U.S. law enforcement, including ICE and police departments.

Our Demands

1. Adopt enforceable ethics policies governing military and surveillance research, Innovation Campus leasing, and research funding sources. 2. End war-industry leasing and relationships on the Innovation Campus by removing any tenants connected to genocide or war crimes and severing partnerships that enable such operations. 3. Commit to transparency by publishing annual public lists of research funding sources and Innovation Campus tenants and disclosing defense-related research to the greatest extent legally possible.

A comprehensive explanation of our full demands is listed here.

We urge MSU leadership to publicly respond to these demands and meet with concerned students and community leaders.

Learn more: studentsagainstgenocide.com Follow: @studentsagainstgenocidemsu

#BozemanMT #MT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SAG

Bozeman, MT – On January 7 at 6:30 p.m., with only hours’ notice, approximately 50 Bozeman residents rallied at the Bozeman Police Department with a clear statement: justice for Renee Good, the victim of ICE’s murder in Minneapolis earlier that day, and no ICE in our communities.

The protest was loud and energetic. Chants such as “IDF, KKK, ICE, they’re all the same!” and “Fuck ICE” were kept up the entire two-hour duration of the rally. At one point, protesters called out to Bozeman Police Department officers gathered in the parking lot, shouting “No cooperation, no deportations!” and demanding that BPD put out a public statement committing to non-cooperation with any ICE activity in Bozeman.

Daisy Baertschi with Students for a Democratic Society at Montana State University said, “”We showed up in the dark and the cold to tell our neighbors and police department that we don't want ICE murderers and kidnappers in our town. Fuck ICE, fuck this bullshit.”

This protest in Bozeman came at the same time as protests in Minneapolis and across the country against the murder of Renee Good and call for ICE out of their communities.

#BozemanMT #MT #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #ICE #KillerICE #KillerCops #ReneeGood #SDS

Bozeman, MT – On Friday, October 17, students and community members gathered with signs reading, “Blood money off campus” and “Pro-science anti-genocide” to protest against the presence of a U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund info session on campus, aimed at finding university researchers to do agricultural research for BARD.

The rally was organized jointly by Students for a Democratic Society at Montana State and Montana 4 Palestine. In a pamphlet distributed at the event, Students for a Democratic Society and Montana 4 Palestine critiqued the presence of BARD on campus, writing, “BARD pours U.S. money into Israeli research partnerships with institutions linked to occupation and genocide.”

Julian Staggs, a member of Students for a Democratic Society, called out the hypocrisy of Israeli agricultural research on campus while its genocide of the Palestinian people is ongoing saying, “Israel has waged a two-year intentional starvation campaign against the people of Gaza, which has included cutting off their access to fresh water making agriculture and food sovereignty impossible within the Gaza strip.”

A number of students attempted to enter the public BARD event held in the Montana State University library but were told they had to be on the registration list in order to get in. When students were able to show that they had properly registered for the event, the event organizer suddenly declared that students were not welcome at the event, and that no students were allowed to enter, deeming the event for faculty and community members only, despite no public advertising of it stating so.

In a public statement released online, Students for a Democratic Society and Montana 4 Palestine said that the University “seemingly decided on the spot that students had no place in knowing what research MSU participates in,” and that, “Students have a right to know who MSU is associating with! Students have a right to attend public events!”

Students turned away from the event rejoined the protest outside, leading chants such as “BARD, blood money!” and “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” A march was then led around the library building. Organizers also used the rally as a time to hand out fliers exposing Montana State’s other connections to Israel and the genocide in Gaza, making it clear that wherever genocide rears its head, students would come out.

#BozemanMT #MT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #M4P