(NewsNation) — There were 33 people arrested, 11 of them students, at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where police used pepper spray to clear a pro-Palestinian tent encampment put up on campus Wednesday.
A NewsNation review of the police data shows four people were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault of a police officer, while 29 were charged with unlawful entry.
Everyone arrested was cited and released, prosecutors said, although some did appear to spend some time at a police holding facility. Prosecutors will ultimately decide whether or not any of those folks face formal charges.
Although NewsNation data shows only a third of those arrested were enrolled at GW, the George Washington University protest was made up of students from several area schools, so it’s unclear if some of those arrested were students at other universities.
Police since have put up barricades to make sure the protesters make no additional encampments.
Politicians, protesters respond
Washington, D.C., city officials, including Mayor Muriel Bower, a Democrat, were slated to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to account for their handling of the 2-week-old protest.
However, this was canceled after Wednesday’s crackdown on protesters, with the committee’s chairman and other Republican lawmakers welcoming police action. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, though, “It should not require threatening to haul D.C.’s mayor before Congress to keep Jewish students at George Washington University safe.”
Democratic Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., condemned the police raid outside the U.S. Capitol, where GW students spoke about what happened during the police raid, according to The Washington Post.
“They think they can intimidate and erase the overwhelming voices for peace and justice,” Bush said. “They think they can jail dissenters and silence the wide consensus among people in this country that there should be an immediate and permanent cease-fire.”
Bowser said she and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith decided to clear the camp because of signs that “the protest was becoming more volatile and less stable.”
But Moataz Salim, a Palestinian student at George Washington who has family in Gaza, said the authorities merely “destroyed a beautiful community space that was all about love.”
“Less than 10 hours ago, I was pepper sprayed and assaulted by police,” he said at a news conference. “And why? Because we decided to pitch some tents, hold community activities and learn from each other. We built something incredible. We built something game-changing.”
Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the United States and increasingly in Europe. Some colleges cracked down immediately, while others have tolerated the demonstrations.
While some have expressed concern that criticism of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which has killed over 34,500 Palestinians (per local health officials), has veered into antisemitism, student protesters have pointed out that Jewish students have been part of their cause and that those spewing hate do not represent them.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.