District of Columbia police leaders are defending the decision to let a pro-Palestinian encampment stay on the George Washington University (GW) campus, despite calls from Republican lawmakers for it to be cleared.
The House Oversight Committee has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on how District leaders have handled the encampment, after a group of conservative lawmakers surveyed campus earlier this week.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) have faced scrutiny as the protest continues. The Washington Post reported this week that D.C. police refused to clear the encampment despite the school calling for back-up.
The GW demonstrators are part of a nation-wide effort on college campuses to denounce the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
As long as the GW encampment remains peaceful, it likely will not have to be cleared.
“I think here in the District of Columbia, we allow people the opportunity to have freedom of speech, and that’s what we’re seeing right now. There has been no violence, no violent behavior, no confrontations,” Chief Pamela Smith said, according to an MPD spokesperson. “If the behavior changes, then our procedures and our process might change.”
The spokesperson also told The Hill, “The approach Chief Smith mentioned here remains our current posture.”
Both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel rallies were held on GW’s campus Thursday.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has called Bowser and Smith to testify before the committee next week, but it’s unclear whether they plan to accept his invitation.
“The House Oversight Committee is deeply concerned over reports indicating the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department rejected George Washington University’s request for help in removing the radical, antisemitic, and unlawful protestors occupying the campus and surrounding public lands,” Comer said in a statement. (The Hill)
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