Dozens reportedly arrested as police clear George Washington University camp | Protests on US campuses

Hundreds of Washington DC police officers, some using pepper spray, cleared a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University early Wednesday, in the latest clash between law enforcement and protesting students in the US.

The student newspaper GW Hatchet reported that at least a dozen people were arrested as the makeshift tent village in University Yard was dismantled. The Metropolitan Police Department said the arrests were for “assaulting a law enforcement officer” and “unlawful entry.”

The confrontation in George Washington was followed by the evacuation of the protest camp at the University of Chicago on Tuesday. A large police force was dispatched to dismantle tents in the university’s quad after school authorities said negotiations with students had failed.

Since campus protests first erupted at Columbia University in New York City three weeks ago and quickly spread across the country, there have been at least 2,600 arrests at 50 campuses, according to the Associated Press.

Tensions rose in George Washington on Tuesday evening after demonstrators left the university camp and marched to the home of the institution’s president, Ellen Granberg. Local television station Fox 5 reported that they chanted: “Granberg, Granberg, you can’t hide, you’re complicit in genocide.”

University authorities said in a statement after the encampment was cleared that the protest “evolved into an unlawful activity with participants directly violating numerous university policies and city regulations.” On Sunday, Granberg went further, claiming the protest had been taken over by outsiders and accusing the protesters of a series of illegal and provocative actions.

“When protesters overcome barriers erected to protect the community, destroy a university statue and flag, surround and intimidate GW students with anti-Semitic images and hateful rhetoric, drive people out of a public yard based on their perceived beliefs and ignore, demean and urging “GW police officers and university maintenance personnel, the protest is no longer peaceful or productive,” Granberg said.

Student protesters called her account of events “deeply misleading” and countered that Granberg repeatedly refused to meet with them and discuss their demands. This includes the university disclosing all investments and endowments and withdrawing from academic partnerships in Israel.

One question that emerged amid the explosive events at George Washington was why D.C. police took so long to clear the camp after days of requests from university authorities. On Friday, D.C.’s police chief and mayor ordered police officers who had gathered to take down the tents to stand down, saying they feared they would be seen cracking down on peaceful protesters, the Washington Post reported.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith were scheduled to answer questions from U.S. congressmen on Wednesday about why they have not yet responded to the university’s request to vacate the campus.