Washington, DC, police raid on GWU's pro-Palestinian tent camp ends in arrests, pepper spray

WASHINGTON – Police cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday morning and arrested 33 people, weeks after police refused an earlier request by the university to get involved.

Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department descended upon the campus at around 3 a.m., the Department said in an email to USA TODAY.

In total, 33 people were arrested – one person inside the university quad was charged with assault on a police officer, while 29 others were arrested and charged with unlawful entry around a block away, Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference on Wednesday morning.

Police were working to determine how many university students were among the arrested, she said.

Police refused earlier request by GWU to clear encampment

The raid came weeks after the MPD reportedly refused a request by university administrators to disperse the protest encampment out of concerns over the appearance of a clash with student protesters on the campus, which is less than a mile from the White House, according to the Washington Post.

"On Monday, MPD learned of more indicators that the protest was becoming less stable and more volatile," Smith said.

Smith said the department had information that counter protesters were "covertly" present at the protest, another factor behind its "change in posture." Police also believed protesters from other schools, including Columbia, had traveled to the encampment, and that protesters were gathering items that could "potentially be used" as weapons, she said.

Videos posted to social media and shared with USA TODAY by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights showed chaos break out as police pepper sprayed protesters amid screams and coughs. Protesters chanted "Free, free Palestine" and anti-police messages.

Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said police pepper sprayed protesters three times at a police barricade after more protesters arrived after the tents had been cleared.

Protesters will be barred from encamping in the space going forward, Smith said.

Videos posted by Ianne Salvosa, a reporter for the GW Hatchet, the university's student newspaper, showed tents and other items taken from the encampment being thrown into a garbage truck.

Carroll said police were still in the process of removing tents from the area, and the department would maintain a presence in the area.

In a statement emailed to USA TODAY on Wednesday, the university called the police operation "orderly and safe" and said there were no reports of "serious injuries."

The university said any on-campus activities, "including activities of free expression on campus," will be required to register with the university beforehand and will be barred from "sound amplification," through the end of commencement on May 19. University Yard and Kogan Plaza, an outdoor space a block over, will also remain closed.

House Oversight Committee cancels hearing with Washington mayor

The raid came hours before Republican Chair of the House Oversight Committee James Comer announced the cancellation of a planned appearance by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and Smith before the committee, originally scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. Comer said in a statement on Wednesday that he had a "good conversation" with Bowser and thanked her for directing police to clear the encampment.

Comer said earlier that the purpose of the hearing was to address concerns over MPD's refusal to remove the "radical, antisemitic, and unlawful protestors" from the university's campus. He announced the hearing during a visit to the encampment with other members of the committee last week.

Bowser said at the news conference on Wednesday that she expected the hearing to be "pulled down."

"Congressman Comer indicated that he thought our energies today should be on our ongoing operations and I agreed," she said.

Student protesters said the encampment was established on April 25, when around 20 tents went up.

"We're here to demand that the university protect pro-Palestinian speech on campus, that they drop all charges against pro-Palestinian student organizers and organizations, that they immediately disclose all investments and endowments, they divest from all funds related to Israel, and that they end all academic partnerships for Israel," Miriam Siegel, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student who participated in the protest told USA TODAY late last month.

Protesters are pushing for universities to pull investments from Israel amid the country's war in Gaza. The protests, which have sprung up on campuses across the country since last month, also oppose U.S. military support for Israel. In the ensuing police crackdown, more than 2,500 have been arrested or detained, according to a New York Times analysis.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.