Police using pepper spray cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University and arrested dozens of demonstrators on Wednesday just as city officials were set to appear before hostile lawmakers in Congress to account for their handling of the weekslong protest.
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00:00 The students united will never be defeated.
00:07 [chanting]
00:15 [chanting]
00:35 [chanting]
00:45 We allowed protesters ample time to leave the area.
00:49 In total, there were six dispersal announcements before our officers took action.
00:54 Many complied and left the encampment area.
00:56 Those who did not comply were arrested.
00:59 A total of 33 arrests were made this morning for charges including unlawful entry,
01:04 which is often called trespassing in other jurisdictions, and an assault on a police officer.
01:09 Since the start of the encampment on GW's campus on April 25th,
01:13 the Metropolitan Police Department has been supporting GW in assessing and monitoring the First Amendment activities.
01:19 They began very peacefully.
01:21 But over the past few days, we began to see an escalation in the volatility of the protests at GW.
01:27 As the encampment was being cleared, additional protesters arrived outside of our perimeter.
01:32 These individuals engaged our officers at 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
01:37 Our officers did deploy pepper spray, and some of the 33 arrests were made at that location.
01:43 I cannot tell you that's the President's decision to determine if she will allow protests in other areas of the campus,
01:50 but as of the area that we have now secured, there will be no protests in that area.
01:57 [Growing number of concerned GW parents]
02:02 On behalf of a large, growing number of concerned GW parents,
02:07 we stand in full solidarity with our children and the students who have risked their education, careers, and safety
02:17 in order to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights,
02:22 oppose the Israeli government's ongoing genocidal war crimes in Gaza,
02:29 and call on their university to divest from human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.
02:37 When our children considered which university to attend, we encouraged them to choose GW
02:45 as their second home to get the best education possible and to be treated with the highest degree of respect.
02:54 The GW administration strongly highlighted its support for diversity, free speech, and activism,
03:03 but the administration's disgraceful response to this peaceful anti-genocide protest
03:10 shows that those words were mere lip service.
03:16 Actions speak louder than words, and the university has revealed its true values.
03:23 The university this morning showed that they would rather unleash brutal police force upon our children
03:31 than treat them with respect and negotiate with them in good faith.
03:37 The university clearly does not value the students at all,
03:42 and has endangered the safety of our children by unleashing officers dressed in full-ride gear
03:51 to assault and spray our children in their eyes with pepper spray.
03:56 The parents will no longer be silent and tolerate the gross mistreatment of our children by the university leadership.
04:05 University leadership has lost all chances to make up for their previous mistakes.
04:12 Therefore, the parents demand that the university secure the resignations of President Granberg and Bruevost Christopher Alan Bracey.
04:24 This needs to be done immediately.