WASHINGTON—Police cleared the pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University (GWU) in the wee hours of the morning on May 8, prompting the cancellation of a congressional hearing about authorities’ handling of the protests.
The operation occurred at 3:45 a.m. ET, just hours before Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith were scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced in a statement that the hearing had been scrapped. He said he talked with Ms. Bowser and appreciated the clearing of the encampment.
However, he lamented that it took him and his committee to shed light on the situation on GWU’s University Yard as “it was apparent that the D.C. police force was not going to do their job.”
“I am pleased that the potential Oversight hearing led to swift action by Mayor Bowser and MPD Chief Smith,“ he said. ”We will continue to hold D.C. officials accountable to ensure our nation’s capital is safe for all.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the committee to ask why the hearing was canceled instead of postponed.
The police arrested 33 protesters, and they were hit with charges such as unlawful entry and assault of a police officer, according to Ms. Smith. Outside the encampment, MPD officers deployed pepper spray toward protesters who supported the encampment but were outside it.
It is currently unknown how many of the arrestees are GWU students. As of press time, they are being processed.
During a May 8 press conference, Ms. Smith said that although the encampment protest started “very peacefully,” there was “an escalation in the volatility of the protests” over the past few days.
On April 2, Ms. Smith said, a GWU police officer was pushed by protesters and an item was stripped from her hands while she was on duty.
The police chief also said counter-protesters and other protesters were gathering for a possible large fight between those supporting and against the encampment. This led to a change in the police’s response toward the encampment, as multiple warnings were issued by police to clear the encampment. Many, not all, of the participants adhered to the order.
The police notified the school before clearing the encampment, Ms. Smith said.
She denied that the clearing was due to the timing of the scheduled Oversight Committee hearing; rather, the decision was based on public safety.
In a statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) applauded the clearing of the encampment but said it took the Oversight Committee’s shining a light on it for MPD to end it.
“The demonstration, like many around the country, has grown into what can only be classified as an illegal and potentially dangerous occupation of GW property,” she said.
Ms. Granberg asked for police assistance.
“When unlawful activities go beyond these limits, we must rely on the support and experience of the DC Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement reads.
The encampment included dressing the head of the yard’s George Washington statue with a keffiyeh, a head covering associated with the pro-Palestinian movement. There were tents and multiple pro-Palestinian signs. Republican members of Congress, including Mr. Comer, visited the encampment last week and called for it to be cleared.
A pro-Israel counter-protest was held last week near the encampment and included a visit from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in support of the pro-Israel students.
