Washington
CNN
—
Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department said it cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment on the George Washington University campus early Wednesday morning, arresting 30 protesters there and arresting three others in separate altercations. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith said.
The action came hours before Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Smith were scheduled to testify before Congress for the House Oversight Committee about the response to the encampment. But after police cleared the encampment, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, announced the cancellation of the hearing and claimed credit for prompting his actions.
“We are pleased that the potential oversight hearing led to swift action by Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Smith. We will continue to hold our officials accountable,” Comer said in a statement.
GW is one of a number of universities across the country where pro-Palestinian protesters have set up unauthorized camps and demonstrated against Israel's war in Gaza and U.S. aid to the country. . Police have arrested more than 2,400 people on U.S. campuses since mid-April amid a polarizing debate over the right to protest, restrictions on free speech, and accusations of anti-Semitism.
GW's encampment was set up about two weeks ago in the University Gardens, a grassy area on campus surrounded by a food hall and university buildings. The tent partner communities spread out onto an adjacent public road, and the two demonstrations merged after protesters removed metal barriers that had been erected around the original encampment in an act of defiance.
The encampment has drawn criticism from GW President Ellen Grunberg, who says it is “unauthorized,” disrupts normal academic activities, and raises safety concerns.
Early Wednesday morning, Metropolitan Police Department stated in a statement They have “worked to pursue non-arrest methods to de-escalate tensions” to protect students and the GW campus, but the “volatility of the protests has gradually escalated.”
“As such, this morning, police worked closely with the GW administration and police to disperse demonstrators from the GW campus and surrounding streets,” police said.
Police said he was arrested for assaulting a police officer and illegal entry.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
People listen to a protest by activists and students near the University Yard encampment at George Washington University on April 28 in Washington, DC.
Smith said Monday there were signs that the demonstrations were becoming “more volatile and destabilizing,” including assaults reported to GW police, the presence of counter-protesters “hidden” in the crowd, He emphasized students from other universities who participated in the encampment, as well as “materials.” It can potentially be used in offensive and defensive weapons and is being collected. ” Mr Smith said demonstrators were given six warnings to disperse and many complied.
Smith told reporters that as police cleared the encampment, officers deployed pepper spray during a skirmish at a nearby intersection. Chief of Police Jeffrey Carroll said law enforcement used pepper spray three times as protesters tried to push past officers and contact other arrestees.
A person familiar with school and police communications said that when the GW police chief received a call from the Metropolitan Police Department at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, GW was informed that police were planning to clear the protest encampment. It is said that
The university issued a statement at noon Wednesday, saying the police action was “orderly and safe.”
“There have been no reports of serious injuries during this procedure. We appreciate MPD's assistance in this matter,” GW said.
Ahmed el-Masri, a protester at the GW encampment, said he left the encampment around 2 a.m. but rushed back about two hours later after hearing that police were trying to clear the vacant lot. . When he arrived, he said, he found “over 20” police cars and “it looked like a battlefield.”
“When I come back at 4 o'clock, I see that the whole camp is gone and the people who protested with me are being rounded up in vans,” he said.
“As much as we've been peacefully protesting here, I'm angry,” he said. “This was our camp…it became a community. It was as if we were here raising our voices for something noble.”
Dante O'Hara, lead organizer of the Ceasefire Immediate Coalition DC, a group critical of Israel's war in Gaza, issued a statement calling on the House Oversight Committee to halt military aid to Israel.
“Congress is creating this crisis. Pressuring local elected officials and university leaders to increase police action puts Congress’ own responsibility for provoking protests like GWU.” “You're running away from it,” O'Hara said.
The university is open and final exams will be held as scheduled, but police and security personnel will be stationed in the university grounds and surrounding areas, the school said. The yard will be closed until after the opening ceremony on May 19th.
Police actions at Massachusetts Amherst and FIT
03:04 – Source: CNN
Why are pro-Palestinian protests growing across the United States?
Also, between Tuesday night and Wednesday, police cleared encampments at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst in New York City and arrested protesters.
At FIT, 50 people were arrested Tuesday night after a large crowd gathered outside the school during a pro-Palestinian protest, according to the NYPD.
According to a statement from FIT President Joyce F. Brown, the arrests come as the school meets a 7 p.m. The meeting was extended until 9:00 p.m. Before the deadline, a spokesperson for the protesting students called for a rally in front of the school, and a group of protesters answered the call, Brown said.
“The NYPD maintained crowd control and worked to prevent the gathering from escalating further. However, as expected, some students insisted on continuing the occupation, leading the NYPD to take further action,” Brown said. said.
The NYPD could not confirm how many of those arrested were students.
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian reported that the arrests at the Massachusetts Amherst school occurred after the chancellor asked police to clear the encampment.
“I recently asked the University of Massachusetts Police Department to disperse the crowd and begin clearing the encampment. means,” President Javier Reyes wrote in a message to students obtained by the newspaper.
It is not clear how many people were arrested. CNN has reached out to the Massachusetts Amherst school and local police for information.
At universities across the country, police are using a variety of tactics to disperse protesters from occupied campus buildings and to control encampments on campus. Law enforcement experts told CNN that police have largely been praised for their response and for showing restraint in their use of force, which echoed widespread protests after the police killing of George Floyd nearly four years ago. He said this was a direct result of the lessons learned during the campaign.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified who the witness was. It was DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Metropolitan Police Chief Pam Smith.