On May 8, 2024, officers from the District of Columbia (DC) Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) used pepper spray to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters who established an encampment on the University Yard (U Yard) at George Washington University (GWU). The police arrested 33 demonstrators, including at least eight current GWU students or recent graduates.
The local coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine originally established the encampment on April 25. GWU responded by suspending seven students (see report), but the encampment continued for the next two weeks, with students and community members joining the peaceful protest and participating in teach-ins, guest lectures, musical performances, and speeches. Campus police and MPD officers remained near the encampment and closely monitored the situation, but DC Mayor Murial Bower denied GWU requests for DC MPD to intervene and disperse the encampment.
That changed around 3:30 am on May 8, when DC MPD officers began warning protesters to disperse or risk arrest for unlawful entry on private property. Mayor Bowser and MPD officials said they had decided to take action because of heightened safety concerns, specifically citing a recent incident during which a student pushed a campus security officer. However, it was also notable that Mayor Bowser was scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee in Congress later in the day on May 8th about the DC MPD’s lack of intervention thus far.
In the wake of the DC MPD warnings, some protesters left, while a small group of other protesters linked arms near the center of the encampment. Student reporters described hundreds of police, clad in riot gear, entering the encampment and arresting the students. On the road, near U Yard, other protesters began pushing against the barricade police formed with their bikes. In response, police used their batons and pepper spray to disperse the protesters.
Several of the arrested students were given the option to have their charges dropped if they accepted a deal preventing them from accessing campus other than to attend their classes for six months. In court filings, prosecutors acknowledged that the demonstrators were nonviolent, but stated that the charges had not been dropped because they refused to follow official directives.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about use of force by police and arrest of students peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments and the constitution of the United States. While state authorities have the responsibility to maintain order and prevent disruption, they must refrain from the disproportionate use of force. Similarly, university authorities should strive to prevent disruptions that inappropriately impede the functioning of higher education, while adhering to their duty to ensure academic freedom and free expression on campus. In addition to harming the immediate victims, such actions have a chilling effect on academic freedom and undermine democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://gwhatchet.com/2024/05/08/mpd-clears-u-yard-encampment-arrests-33-pro-palestinian-protesters/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2024/05/09/dc-police-clear-gw-encampment-mayors-hearing
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-police-clear-out-george-washington-u-protest-encampment/3611269/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/08/george-washington-university-palestine-protest
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/33-protesters-were-arrested-at-george-washington-university-as-police-cleared-a-tent-encampment
https://x.com/ReporterJoseph/status/1788159918601551938
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/26/dc-police-george-washington-university-protests/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/08/10/gwu-students-gaza-protest/