WASHINGTON — One day after DC Police broke up a large pro-Palestine protest on the campus of George Washington University, the site where the encampment began has been blocked off by barriers. Officials say the barriers will remain up, blocking access to University Yard, through graduation day on May 19.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith announced 33 people were arrested Wednesday morning when the encampment was cleared. According to Chief Smith, 29 of those were for unlawful entry, and four others were for assault on a police officer.
A spokesperson for the university confirmed that six of the people arrested were GWU students, though more identified themselves to police as students.
"Since the start of the encampment on GW's campus on April 25, MPD has been supporting GW in assessing and monitoring the first amendment activities," Smith said. "They began very peacefully, but over the past few days, we began to see an escalation in the volatility of the protests at GW. This started last Thursday when a GW campus police officer was pushed by protesters and an item was grabbed out of the police officer's hands."
The chief said the escalation continued, including an assault report, security probing of a campus building and protesters from other schools coming to GW. She said she briefed the mayor, and together they came up with a plan to deescalate campus tension, including giving multiple warnings to people inside the encampments to leave the area. Smith said there were six dispersal announcements before officers took any action Wednesday.
The encampment lasted 14 days, and continued despite the university's president calling it unlawful. Now, some are calling for the president's ouster.
"My child is one of the protesters and I am a parent of everybody who was in the camp," said Hala Maer. “My son has end of the year exams," she said. "He can’t study, he can’t focus, he’s really angry. It’s just against all the principles of this nation.”
Some educators at the university voiced their frustrations about the removal of the encampment as well.
“What they were met with is tyranny," said Amr Madkour, an Assistant Professor with the GW School of Medicine. "No attempts to negotiate, no attempts to hear their demands and lies that come out about the nature of this protest."
George Washington University's campus is open Thursday, but operating with enhanced safety measures. DC Police were on campus, but no protesters were seen.
RELATED: 'I think it’s shameful' | Students respond to GWU President's letter calling the protests 'unlawful'
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