Police clearing anti-Israel encampment at George Washington University, at least 35 arrested

The Metropolitan Police Department is on the campus of George Washington University early Wednesday morning to clear the anti-Israel encampment, hours before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is set to testify in front of the House about the handling of the protests at the school.

Dozens of officers could be seen near the encampment on University Yard as protesters, some with megaphones and speakers, confronted them with chants like "the people have all the power!" and "the people united will never be defeated!"

Video footage from affiliate FOX 5 DC showed officers knocking down tents in the encampment and making the agitators leave the area. About an hour into the encampment being cleared, a confrontation between police and protesters resulted in law enforcement deploying pepper spray in the protesters' direction.

Hours before, officers were guarding the home of GWU President Ellen Granberg after a large group of protesters walked to her home and began chanting phrases suggesting she is scared to meet with them to discuss negotiations. Video on social media showed them carry a folding table to her home while demanding she "come to the table."

Granberg, on Sunday, released a long statement describing the encampment as "an unauthorized protest" in defiance of what free speech at the university allows for.

"What is currently happening at GW is not a peaceful protest protected by the First Amendment or our university’s policies. The demonstration, like many around the country, has grown into what can only be classified as an illegal and potentially dangerous occupation of GW property," she wrote.

She said in the past five days, protesters have overrun barriers erected to protect the community, vandalized a GWU statue and flag, surrounded and intimidated other students with "antisemitic images and hateful rhetoric," chased people out of University Yard based on their perceived beliefs, and ignored, degraded and pushed campus police officers and university maintenance staff.

"Conventional protests that abide by municipal law and university policy should and do receive protection and respect, no matter the message's viewpoint. As I have outlined, this is not what is happening at GW," Granberg wrote.

At least 35 protesters have been arrested as of Wednesday morning, Fox News confirmed, and eight students have been suspended so far.