Police clear pro-Palestinian protest camp, arrest 33 people on D.C. campus as mayoral hearing is canceled

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested protesters, hours after dozens marched to the school’s president’s home as city officials prepared to testify before Congress about how to deal with to appear at the protest.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and chief of the city police Pamela Smith were called to testify before the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday afternoon, but the hearing was canceled following the arrests.

After the raid, Bowser told reporters that she and police made the decision to clear the camp based on changing information about increasing threats to public safety. “Our response to demonstrations is always based on public safety and responsibility,” she said.

Smith said there were signs that “the protest was becoming more volatile and unstable.” Among them was evidence that protesters had been “collecting makeshift weapons” and “disguising” university buildings with the possible intent of occupying them, said Police Department Deputy Chief Jeffery Carroll.

Tensions have escalated with clashes with Israel-Hamas war protesters on college campuses in the United States and, increasingly, in Europe. Some colleges immediately cracked down. Others tolerated the demonstrations. Some have begun to lose patience and call the police because of concerns about disruption to campus life and safety.

D.C. police said officers tried to disperse the protesters George Washington because “the volatility of the protest has gradually increased.” They said 33 people were arrested, including on charges of assaulting a police officer and unlawful entry. They confirmed that they had used pepper spray outside the camp against protesters who tried to break through police barriers and enter.

George Washington had warned of possible bans on continuing the camp at University Yard. Protesters carrying signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Hands off Rafah” also marched to school President Ellen Granberg’s home Tuesday evening.

The school said in a statement: “While the university is committed to protecting students’ rights to free speech, the camp has evolved into an unlawful activity with participants in direct violation of numerous university policies and city regulations.” “

Since April 18, just over 2,600 people have been arrested on 50 campuses. These numbers are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement after this latest anti-war movement was launched by a protest at Columbia University in New York.

A pro-Palestinian tent camp was cleared by officers in riot gear at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after the initially permissive administration said protesters had crossed a border, heightening security concerns. Hundreds of protesters had gathered for at least eight days until the administration warned them on Friday to leave the site or face removal.

Chicago officers later lifted a barricade that had been erected to keep protesters away from the main campus meeting room and moved it toward the demonstrators, some of whom chanted, “Up, up with liberation.” Down, down with occupation !” Police and protesters pushed back and forth along the barricade as officers tried to restore control.

“The university remains a place where dissenting voices have many opportunities to express themselves, but we cannot create an environment in which the expression of some dominates and disrupts the healthy functioning of the community for the rest,” wrote Paul Alivisatos, president of the university of Chicago.

Other schools allow protesters to hold rallies and organize their encampments as they see fit.

The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts college in Connecticut, hailed the campus demonstration, which included a pro-Palestinian encampment, as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to over 100.

“The demonstrators’ cause is important – they should draw attention to the killing of innocent people,” University President Michael Roth wrote to the campus community on Thursday. “And we will continue to make space for it, as long as that space does not impact campus operations.”

Rhode Island School of Design President Crystal Williams spent more than five hours with protesters discussing their demands after students began occupying a building on Monday.

On Tuesday, the school announced it was moving classes from the building, which was covered with posters reading “Free Palestine” and “Let Gaza Live.”

Some colleges have tried tactics ranging from appeasement to the threat of disciplinary action to clear the way for freshmen.

And the police arrived on Tuesday evening to break up an encampment at the University of Massachusetts. Video from the crime scene in Amherst showed an hours-long operation in which dozens of police in riot gear systematically tore down tents and arrested protesters. The operation lasted until early Wednesday.

UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the eviction after discussions over a variety of demands failed to produce an agreement to dismantle the encampment and begin “constructive discussions.”

A week ago, George Washington’s camp was the site of a somewhat chaotic visit by several Republican members of the House Oversight Committee, who criticized the protests and condemned Bowser’s refusal at the time to send in police.

Bowser confirmed Monday that the city and police had rejected the university’s request to intervene. “We have had no violence to stop on the GW campus,” she said at the time.

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Associated Press journalists from around the U.S. and around the world contributed, including Charles Rex Arbogast, Pat Eaton-Robb, Steve LeBlanc, Jeff Amy, Christopher Weber, Mike Corder, Barbara Surk, Rick Callahan, Sarah Brumfield and Pietro de Cristofaro.