After a standoff between local police and protesters outside GW’s administrative offices Wednesday night, pro-Palestinian demonstrators dispersed and said they would “fight another day.”
Protesters first gathered on the corner of H and 21st streets at about 5 p.m., just outside of University Yard where police cleared demonstrators’ pro-Palestinian encampment two nights before and arrested more than 30 people, including at least six GW students. At about 8 p.m., demonstrators moved and pitched tents on F Street outside GW offices and University President Ellen Granberg’s on-campus residence before hundreds of officers descended on the area and issued five warnings for the crowd to disperse before arrest.
Before the protesters moved to F Street, demonstrators spoke about their altercations with police during the encampment clearing, condemning officers’ use of force in clashes with protesters and in arrests. Metropolitan Police Department officers pepper-sprayed and shoved and punched protesters at a bicycle barricade on 20th Street after arresting demonstrators early Wednesday morning.
Some speakers pointed to their religion and the resilience of Palestinians under Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as their source of strength while police were sweeping the encampment.
“In the moments when I was shoved in the chest, pushed to the ground, and pepper sprayed in the face, I couldn’t think of anything except the children of Palestine who experienced the same brutality tenfold,” one protester said.
Another organizer said in the police’s clearing of the encampment, GW officials allowed workers to destroy and throw away their prayer mats and Qurans into a garbage truck. Other protesters alleged police ripped the hijabs off some demonstrators during the clearing.
A MPD spokesperson said on Friday morning that MPD is not “currently investigating” the claims of officers tearing off demonstrators’ hijabs. A University spokesperson did not return requests for comment regarding the claim.
The organizer said Palestinians, and their love, resilience, empathy and survival, have taught protesters how to be “revolutionaries.”
“We, the Muslim students of GW, we bear witness to this administration’s unrelenting injustice, and we choose to be a part of the revolution that will liberate Palestine,” the organizer said.
Once the crowd marched to F Street, protesters began to pitch about 10 tents in the middle of the street and the energy of the crowd lifted. Protesters danced to music and chanted before about 30 Metropolitan Police Department officers lined up on F Street at about 9 p.m., facing rows of about 120 protesters who locked arms around the tents.
“Admin, admin go to hell,” protesters chanted.
Officers blocked off traffic on the streets surrounding the protest and GW restricted entry and exit from Thurston Hall, which is on F Street. Wearing riot helmets and brandishing batons, a line of roughly 100 officers approached the crowd of protesters just before midnight.
“Hey cops, what do you say, how many students will you beat today?” protesters chanted.
MPD delivered their first of five warnings just before 11:30 p.m. to inform protesters they would be arrested if they did not clear the sidewalk and street. Officers issued an additional four warnings within the next 10 minutes, and demonstrators began to push back onto 21st Street and head north onto H Street, dispersing from the area. Organizers told demonstrators repeatedly to disperse and go home in pairs. MPD officers issued three warnings before they began making arrests at the encampment Wednesday morning.
“We need to fight another day,” one protester said.
After most of the protesters had dispersed, some lingered on the intersection of H and 21st Streets. Police detained one protester with a camera at H and 21st streets around 12:15 a.m. after most of the demonstrators had dispersed and escorted him into a police van.
A MPD spokesperson said in a statement at about 1:30 a.m. Friday that police arrested the demonstrator for assault on a police officer. The Hatchet was unable to confirm details about the altercation that led to the arrest.
The MPD spokesperson said all “First Amendment activity” in the area has dispersed, and all roads have opened to traffic.
