WASHINGTON — In the early morning hours of Wednesday, DC Police began breaking up an encampment protest on the campus of George Washington University and arresting demonstrators. WUSA9 was on scene when police began removing tents from University Yard, where demonstrators have been camped out for 14 days. The university also erected barriers outside University Yard after the encampment was fully cleared out.
At a news conference just before 9 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith jointly addressed the campus activity, announcing 33 arrests. According to Chief Smith, 29 of those were for unlawful entry, and four others were for assault on a police officer.
"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.
As the clearing was happening, Smith said additional protesters arrived outside the police perimeter and "engaged with the officers at 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue," Smith said. Pepper spray was used on protesters and some of the arrests occurred at this location, the chief confirmed.
"Moving forward, MPD will continue to be supportive of universities or other private entities that need assistance," Smith said, thanking the officers for their "professionalism" Wednesday morning and the "service they provided to the community" during the protests.
A senior at GWU who witnessed clashes between police and the protesters said he saw at least two to three vans of people being arrested.
"I feel bad for most of these protesters," the student said. "They were peacefully protesting. Honestly, I feel this was more the university's fault with this. The university was really trying to antagonize these people, make them out to be the villains."
Consistent with college campus protests across the nation, students remained camped out at GW, even after university president Ellen Granberg wrote a letter calling the protests unlawful. But encampment protesters pushed back, saying they would continue protesting until their demands are met.
Those demands include:
- Divesting from corporations involved with the ongoing war in Gaza
- Making all investments transparent
- Protecting pro-Palestinian speech on campus
- Dropping charges against pro-Palestinian protesters
Late Tuesday night, protesters were seen outside Granberg's home calling for a meeting with the university president and the reinstatement of eight suspended GW students.
In a statement to WUSA9 Wednesday morning, MPD cited "an escalation in the volatility of the protest" as the reason for breaking up the encampment that began on the campus on April 25.
The full statement is below:
The District of Columbia supports individuals peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights. The Metropolitan Police Department has been supporting the George Washington University in assessing and monitoring First Amendment activities that began on campus on April 25, 2024.
The Department has worked to pursue non-arrest methods to deescalate tensions during this time and ensure the safety of the GW students and campus. Based on incidents and information, 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.
During the course of the operation, arrests were made for Assault on a Police Officer and Unlawful Entry. MPD will continue to be supportive of universities or other private entities who need assistance.
Some roads in the area around the encampment were closed Wednesday while the encampment was cleared.
Protesters told WUSA9 that even while the encampment was cleared out, they don't intend to go home.
Meanwhile, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and MPD Police Chief Pamela Smith were expected to testify before Congress about the university protest Wednesday afternoon, but following the clearing, Rep. James Comer said the hearing had been cancelled.
Wednesday afternoon, a protester who said she was arrested in the morning, spoke at a media conference outside the John Wilson building.
“I literally just got out of jail like an hour and a half ago and there was one song that we were singing all the time in there," said the protester who didn't provide her name. “We are here, we are strong. They can mace us, they can brutalize us, they can pepper spray us, but the movement is here, it is stronger than ever. Our energy hasn’t dissipated, in fact it has come back 10 times stronger.”
At a separate media conference in front of the Coalition on American-Islamic Relations building, more people spoke out against the police actions against protesters Wednesday.
"My child is one of the protesters and I am a parent of everybody who was in the camp," said Hala Maer.
She is one of several mothers calling for the university’s president to be terminated.
“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 principals 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."
RELATED: George Washington University President says demonstrations on campus have grown out of control
RELATED: 'I think it’s shameful' | Students respond to GWU President's letter calling the protests 'unlawful'
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