DC Police Defend Protest Camp Decision Amid Republican Questions

District of Columbia police have defended their decision to let the pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University (GW) remain, despite calls from Republican lawmakers for it to be cleared.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Mayor Muriel Bowser have come under scrutiny for allowing the GW protest to continue. The camp has been set up for more than two weeks.

MPD Chief Pamela Smith argued that as long as the camp is peaceful, it won’t have to be evacuated, but that could change if there is a change in “behavior” on the private university’s campus, according to a report from NBC Washington.

“I think here in the District of Columbia we give people the opportunity to have freedom of speech, and that’s what we’re seeing now. There was no violence, no violent behavior, no confrontations,” Smith said, according to an MPD spokesperson. “If behavior changes, our procedures and processes may change.”

The spokesperson also told The Hill, “The approach Chief Smith mentioned here remains our current stance.”

Smith’s comments came as pro-Palestine and pro-Israel rallies were held Thursday on the GW campus.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called Bowser and Smith to testify before the committee next week about the ongoing protest. Comer’s request for grilling employees follows the report of The Washington Post stating that DC police refused to clear the camp despite the school asking them to do so.

“The House Oversight Committee is deeply concerned by reports indicating that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department rejected George Washington University’s request for assistance in removing radical, anti-Semitic and lawless protesters occupying the campus and grounds neighboring public buildings,” said Comer.

Comer and conservative lawmakers visited the campus, where they argued with protesters, some even threatening to withhold federal funding from the institution.

Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Byron Donalds (Florida) and Anna Paulina Luna (Florida) met protesters at GW and called on city officials to help the school in the process.

“That being said, the mayor has a responsibility to support George Washington. The camp is now trespassing. This is what the university president and administration said: You are invading GW. They asked the mayor for support. Mayor Bowser doesn’t want to support them. She needs to do her job,” Donalds said.