NOTE: This story was last updated at 7:49pm on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
Just hours before sunrise on Wednesday, May 8, legions of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers raided and shut down an encampment that student activists set up on the campus of George Washington University (GWU) in solidarity with the millions of Palestinians who’ve been killed or displaced by the Israeli government.
This shutdown puts an end, at least for the time being, an act of civil disobedience aimed at compelling GWU’s divestment from Israel and companies that support its government, the university’s disclosure of endowments and investments, and protection of pro-Palestinian speech on campus.
Several students, including those who MPD arrested,said the early morning raid only strengthens their resolve to protest what they call GWU’s brazen and full-blown support of Zionism.
“We will not allow these systems to walk right over us. We are here strong. Our energy has not dissipated,” said Noor, a student who was arrested on Wednesday morning.
Noor, who requested that she be identified only by her first name, counted among those who spoke in Freedom Plaza on Wednesday afternoon during a press conference that the Hands Off DC and Ceasefire Now coalitions hosted.
In reflecting on her experience, Noor criticized GW administrators who she said didn’t act in good faith amid negotiations around students’ demands. Despite her apparent fatigue, Noor remained focused on the pro-Palestinian cause.
“No matter how brutalized we are, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening in Palestine right now,” Noor said. “We will not lose our eyes off our compass in Palestine. We will not allow arrests to get in the way of that.”
“On Wednesday, MPD Chief Pamela Smith said the raid followed six warnings by officers. She told reporters that 33 people have been arrested, mostly for unlawful entry and assault of a police officer. A small portion have been arrested for assault on a police officer.
It has yet to be determined how many of those who’ve been arrested are GWU students. However, MPD officials said that some of those who were detained came from another protest group that approached the encampment from 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue during the raid and clashed with officers.
During that encounter, officers used pepper spray, an MPD official said.
By sunrise, MPD officers closed off the portion of H Street between 20th Street and 21st Street in Northwest where University Yard, the site of the encampment, is located. No one was allowed into the area as MPD officers and staff members cleared out the space and checked for “improvised weapons” and other contraband that MPD officials said they learned about in the course of an investigation that started when students erected the encampment.
On Thursday, MPD told The Informer that no firearms had been recovered from encampment. Department officials however recounted finding “several weapons” including rocks and plywood that they said could be fashioned as weapons.
The early morning raid took place just hours before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Smith were scheduled to speak before the U.S. House Oversight Committee about D.C.’s response to “unlawful activity and antisemitism.’ Bowser, who spoke with Congressman James Comer (R-KY), said the hearing would most likely be canceled.
Comer later confirmed that in a statement.
Activists on the frontlines of the fight for D.C. self-determination criticized Bowser, calling her a puppet of congressional Republicans. Some people, like Kelsye Adams of DC Vote, said the early morning raid on the GWU encampment further highlighted D.C.’s precarious relationship with Congress.
“Congress needs to keep their hands off D.C.,” Adams said. “Working-class youth and students are entitled to the same rights as every American. It’s paternalistic and wasteful to subject local affairs to scrutiny by those not from D.C.”
On Wednesday, Bowser, who said she had also been in communication with GWU officials for several days, described the early morning raid as apolitical and a matter of public safety. Per MPD, factors that compelled the early morning action included reports of an assault on a GWU police officer, people attempting to break into buildings, encroachment on the encampment by counterprotesters, and collaboration with protesters from Columbia University in New York City.
“As tensions evolve, our community has demonstrated our values and constitutional responsibilities,” Bowser said on Wednesday. “Our responses to demonstrations are always rooted in public safety and constitutional responsibility. The chief and her team have the final word as experts.”
The GWU encampment launched on April 25 when 300 student-protesters took over GWU’s University Yard. Within a day of tents going up, GWU police officers set up a barricade around University Yard. Even though people were free to leave without consequence, several activists opted to stay inside the barricade.
They did so even as campus officers restricted movement and, at times, denied them access to water and toiletries.
Those on the scene on Wednesday morning, including another student who requested anonymity, said they joined encampment activities after seeing university officials deny water and toiletries to students. They said that the experience, among several others during their college career, highlighted contradictions that exist at GW and other universities.
“They only want their world to go around and keep their systems,” the student said. “You can’t expect to teach us about South Africa and civil rights and we not take the same action. GWU is proud of its legacy [of protest] but we get beat down [about the encampment] because Israel funds the university. They have students on trial and the housing and meal plans taken away.”
