One taken into custody as pro-Palestine protestors rally near office of GWU president

WASHINGTON (7News) — A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) source told 7News the protestor who was arrested overnight Friday after pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in Northwest self-identified as a George Washington University student.

A university spokesperson would not confirm whether the 19-year-old from New Jersey is a student.

GWU students are holding a news conference to address the ongoing protests. Watch below:

University students met with GWU leaders Friday to discuss demands of ending the ongoing protests. After the meeting, university officials shared the following statement:

Today, GW President Ellen Granberg, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes, and Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Colette Coleman had a conversation with representatives from eight Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian student organizations. The students used the meeting to share their personal stories and perspectives and outline their requests to the university. University leaders used this space to listen and open lines of dialogue with students while reiterating their commitment to ensuring safety and free expression at GW for all student communities. They also explained that the university is not considering changes to its endowment investment strategy, academic partnerships, or established SRR processes.

On Thursday night, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Northwest to protest the Gaza-Israel conflict. The rally continued into the night with protesters marching to the Office of the George Washington University President and setting up tents in the street.

D.C. police had a heavy presence in the area during the rally and were seen standing shoulder to shoulder using bikes as a sort of barricade.

Around 11:30 p.m., officers warned protesters to leave the area, saying they could be facing arrest. By 12:15 a.m. Friday one person was seen being taken into custody, prompting protesters to chant "Let him go." Police cleared out demonstrators shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

7News was on the scene. Watch below:

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | 33 arrests made after DC police clear out pro-Palestine encampment at GWU's campus

No further tenting will be accepted and police presence will remain high during future demonstrations, a Metropolitan Police source told 7News on Friday.

Tall fences were placed around the George Washington University's University Yard after an encampment of pro-Palestinian protestors was cleared early Wednesday morning.

D.C. police added the fences to continue their clean-up of an encampment that saw dozens of tents and protestors reside there for roughly two weeks. Police were ordered to clear the encampment citing recent volatility, claims of simple assault, reports of covert counter-protestors, and outside activists arriving at the encampment, officials said Wednesday.

The clearing resulted in 33 arrests, most were for unlawful entry charges. Many of the protestors were processed and later released. George Washington University reports only six were students.

In the aftermath, protestors vowed Wednesday to continue calling on the University to divest from businesses with military ties to Israel and its war with Hamas and call for a ceasefire to allow aid for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians trapped in the crossfire.

After the encampment was cleared Wednesday, GW students, parents, alumni, and some faculty members, alongside community members held news conferences across D.C. calling for support for a ceasefire and condemning GW and DC leaders for the way the protest was cleared out. House Representatives Rashida Tliab (D-Michigan-12) and Cori Bush (D-Missouri-01) also condemned other leaders during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

RELATED | Protestors, city leaders react to GW University encampment arrests

MPD said Wednesday that the agency had been working with university officials to "pursue non-arrest methods to deescalate tensions" since the encampment began on April 25, but after a "gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest," officers moved to clear out the demonstrators.

Before the encampment was cleared, House Oversight Committee members had also criticized D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith for not removing the protest earlier, calling protestors "antisemitic" in public statements. They had ordered the mayor and police chief to appear in front of the committee on Wednesday but later canceled the meeting.

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