The operation occurred at 3:45 a.m. EST, just hours before Washington Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Smith were scheduled to testify before Congress.
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WASHINGTON—Police cleared the pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University (GWU) in the wee hours of May 8 morning, prompting the cancelation of a congressional hearing about authorities’ handling of the protests.
The operation occurred at 3:45 a.m. EST, 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.) stated 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 contacted 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 9 press conference, Ms. Smith said that while the encampment protest started “very peacefully,” there was “an escalation in the volatility of the protests” over the past few days.
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