Protests over Boeing military contracts during Defense Supplier Summit in Seattle

Boeing's battle against bad press

Hundreds of people protested Boeing’s military contracts outside the Aerospace and Defense Summit in Seattle.

SEATTLE - Hundreds of people protested Boeing’s military contracts outside the Aerospace and Defense Summit in Seattle on Tuesday.

The rally happened around 12 p.m. at a park near the Seattle Convention Center.

According to the Convention Center’s website, 2,000 people are expected to attend the Aerospace and Defense Supplier Summit this week.

However, center officials told FOX 13 News the entire convention went online on Tuesday. They did not give a reason for the change.

Organizers for the summit refused to answer questions, and their website was down all day.

Protesters took credit for the convention's decision to go online.

As they rallied at the park, they called for Boeing to stop building military aircraft.

"We know that they’re not going to do that unless, you know, the people of this city, the people of this world, confront them and show them that war profiteering is not acceptable," said Susie Lepow, member of Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return UW.

This rally continues a trend of Boeing’s name appearing in negative headlines, regardless of whether the company is truly at fault.

Boeing has had a terrible year for publicity since the January incident where a door plug blew off an in-flight Alaska Airlines plane made by the company.

Scott Hamilton, an aviation consultant with the Leeham Company, says fault does not matter to public perception right now.

"All they see is ‘Boeing, Boeing, Boeing’ in the headlines, and some are saying, ‘I'm not going to fly Boeing.’ There’s really nothing Boeing can do, right now, about it. They can hardly go out with an advertising campaign and say, ‘We're Boeing, and we're the best thing since sliced bread,’" said Hamilton. "Right now, they have to sit back, take their lumps and try to fix it."

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