Washington CNN —The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment on George Washington University’s campus early Wednesday and arrested 30 protesters there and three others in a separate altercation, Metro Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said. Yet after police cleared the encampment, House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, announced the hearing was canceled and took credit for spurring action. GW’s encampment was set up about two weeks ago in the University Yard, a grassy square on campus surrounded by a food hall and university buildings. Officers deployed pepper spray three timesPeople listen as activists and students protest near an encampment at University Yard, George Washington University on April 28, in Washington, DC. Ahmed El Masry, a demonstrator at the GW encampment, said he left the encampment at about 2 a.m. but rushed back about two hours later when he heard police were working to clear the space.

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