As authorities work to forcibly break up encampments of pro-Palestinian protesters at college campuses around the U.S., police in D.C. have take a largely hands-off approach with protestors at George Washington University’s campus, allowing demonstrations to continue for a seventh day.
That strategy has drawn outrage from Republican members of Congress, who criticized D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Wednesday. Bowser has defended the city’s handling of the demonstrations amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
Republican lawmakers visit encampment
While surrounded by protesters at GW University, Republican lawmakers who serve on the House Oversight Committee held a news conference at the encampment on H Street Wednesday.
At times, the sporadic shouting and chanting from protesters drowned out the lawmakers as they demanded that the encampments be cleared.
Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said university officials told lawmakers they want the encampment cleared.
“I would strongly encourage the mayor to have the police do their job and ensure that there’s at the very least no trespassing,” he said. “Peaceful protests are fine, but trespassing is against the law.”
Members of the group reiterated that the protesters are “trespassing,” on campus.
While speaking to the group, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) grabbed a megaphone from a fellow committee member to project her voice over the crowd.
“The mayor must step up and do something to clear this,” Boebert said. “This is not the summer of love and we are not bowing a knee to the terrorists who caused the riots and chaos is in our cities anymore.”
Students tell WTOP the protests have been peaceful and that House Republicans have inflamed the situation and that they plan to continue the demonstration until their demands are met.
The House Oversight Committee will hold an emergency hearing next Wednesday and its summoned the mayor and police chief.
“We want to ensure that the Washington police is working with campus police to ensure the safety of Jewish students,” Comer said.
The visit to campus comes after several Republicans penned a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith.
North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and Kentucky Congressman James Comer wrote they were “alarmed” by the Metropolitan Police Department refusing to respond to the demonstrations at the Foggy Bottom campus. They wrote city leaders must fully enforce the law.
“It is deeply disturbing that while GWU has attempted to take concrete measures to protect the safety of its Jewish student body from persecution and harassment, it is hindered by the MPD’s refusal to provide assistance clearing out the encampment, over fears of public criticism,” the letter said.
Bowser responds to criticism of protest handling
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Bowser addressed the Republicans lawmakers’ criticism.
“The members have universities in their own districts, especially the member from North Carolina,” Bowser said, seemingly referencing the protests in the southern state.
Bowser added, “I was watching a lot of activity in North Carolina, it would seem that her energy would be best placed there.”
George Washington University had reportedly requested D.C. police assistance to clear out the student protesters’ encampment, but according to reporting by The Washington Post, police officials rejected the request on Friday.
When asked about whether D.C. officials turned down requests for help from the university Bowser said: “I haven’t ever turned down requests for help. We support all of our employers, all of our universities and our police.”
Bowser added that she wouldn’t comment about “particulars” of private meetings.
“We are in constant communication with GW officials and have been throughout to be supportive, to hear their concerns and for them to understand how to work directly with the District government,” Bowser said.
Bowser has not confirmed whether she will attend the House Oversight Committee’s hearing on the protest response next week.
“I understand that a notice went out as I was standing here and I will review that and the city will definitely have a response,” Bowser said Wednesday, when asked about her invitation to the meeting.
What’s happening on GW’s campus?
WTOP’s Grace Newton reported early Wednesday that police are still stationed around the 100 tents left on GWU’s University Yard. D.C. police officers are still monitoring the protest and blocking off the section of H Street in front of the yard, seemingly in the same position as when demonstrations began a week ago.
In their letter, Foxx and Comer said police departments in other cities have cleared out encampments on college campuses.
“If the District of Columbia and MPD refuse to exercise their authority to assist GWU in securing the safety of its students and faculty, Congress will be obliged to exercise its legislative powers to do so,” Foxx and Comer wrote in their letter. “In the event you do not [answer fully for the reluctance to enforce the law], Congress will take the necessary actions to ensure this failure will not be repeated.”
Police officers carrying zip ties and riot shields stormed a Columbia University building being occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters, arresting dozens of people just after midnight on Wednesday after weekslong protests on the campus escalated the day before. Fighting also broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA Wednesday and police wearing helmets and face shields had to separate the two groups.
In a separate letter to Bowser, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton wrote of his disapproval in MPD’s refusal to arrest protesters out of “fear” of the public perception of the police in the media.
Newton reports that a student group, GW for Israel, has launched a petition urging the mayor to remove “violent and antisemitic agitators” from the campus.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano and Grace Newton contributed to this report from George Washington University’s campus. WTOP’s Emily Venezky and Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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