Washington
CNN
—
The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment on George Washington University’s campus early Wednesday and arrested 30 protesters there and three others in a separate altercation, Metro Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said.
The action took place hours before Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Smith were set to testify at Congress for the House Oversight Committee on the response to the encampment. Yet after police cleared the encampment, House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, announced the hearing was canceled and took credit for spurring action.
“I am pleased that the potential Oversight hearing led to swift action by Mayor Bowser and MPD Chief Smith. We will continue to hold DC officials accountable to ensure our nation’s capital is safe for all,” Comer said in a statement.
GW is one of a number of universities across the country at which pro-Palestinian protesters have set up unauthorized camps and demonstrated against Israel’s war in Gaza and US support for the country. Police have arrested more than 2,400 people on US campuses since mid-April amid polarized debates over the right to protest, the limits of free speech and accusations of antisemitism.
GW’s encampment was set up about two weeks ago in the University Yard, a grassy square on campus surrounded by a food hall and university buildings. A partner community of tents spread on the neighboring public street, and the two demonstrations merged after protesters, in an act of defiance, removed metal barriers erected around the initial encampment.
The encampment has drawn criticism from GW President Ellen Granberg, who said it was “unauthorized,” disrupted normal academic activities and created safety concerns.
Early Wednesday morning, Metro Police said in a statement they had “worked to pursue non-arrest methods to deescalate tensions” to protect students and the GW campus, but there has been a “gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest.”
“Therefore, this morning, working closely with the GW administration and police, MPD moved to disperse the demonstrators from the GW campus and surrounding streets,” police said.
Police said the arrests were for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
People listen as activists and students protest near an encampment at University Yard, George Washington University on April 28, in Washington, DC.
Smith said there were signs Monday that the demonstration was becoming “more volatile and less stable,” highlighting an assault reported to GW Police, the presence of “covert” counter-protesters in the crowd, students from other universities joining the encampment and “items that could potentially be used for offensive and defensive weapons … being gathered.” Protesters were given six warnings to disperse, and many complied, Smith said.
As police cleared the encampment, officers deployed pepper spray during a skirmish at a nearby intersection, Smith told reporters. MPD Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said law enforcement used pepper spray three times as demonstrators tried to push past officers to reach other people who had been arrested.
GW was…
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