Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) physically removed several pro-Palestine student protesters from inside Healy Hall around 10:30 a.m. this morning. The protesters were taken outside the front gates by approximately half a dozen officers.
“We were calling for them to protect free speech on campus, protect our students, protect our teachers, protect our workers,” a Georgetown student protester said to the Voice. “Georgetown flat out refused to do that today, and instead called upon GUPD to assault and attack their own students.”
Before their removal, the approximately 15 student protesters were standing and chanting on the stairs to the second floor of Healy Hall. GUPD officers and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Erika Cohen Derr observed the protest. Check-in for Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program (GAAP) weekend, where prospective students visit campus, was occurring in the hall in front of the protesters.
Georgetown University Police Department physically removed several pro-Palestine student protesters from inside Healy Hall this morning. Georgetown University did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This story will be updated. (1/?) pic.twitter.com/dSWABAiLm9
— The Georgetown Voice (@GtownVoice) April 11, 2025
According to a university spokesperson, “protesters blocked egress and did not respond to multiple directives from officials to stop disrupting university business. After numerous directives from university officials during which the protesters refused to identify themselves, the Georgetown University Police Department at the direction of university officials removed the disruptive protesters from Healy Hall.”
The Voice reporter on scene did not witness students block egress, however, multiple directives from GUPD to the protesters were heard.
The university spokesperson wrote that “any members of the Georgetown community who are identified and found to have violated University policy will face discipline.”
“We respect the rights of members of our community to express their personal views and are committed to maintaining the values of academic freedom and serving as a forum for the free exchange of ideas, even when those ideas may be controversial and objectionable to some. The university may reasonably regulate the time, place and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the institution,” the university spokesperson added.
Following their removal from Healy, approximately 20 protesters stood outside the front gates on the sidewalk chanting for two hours. Refrains included “GUPD we know you, you assault students too,” “Cops off our campus now,” and “Free, free Palestine.”
“GUPD officers just assaulted our students, put their hands on them without consent and dragged them off of our campus,” a student protester said over the megaphone outside the gates.
Approximately half a dozen GUPD officers continued to watch the protest from inside the front gates. Multiple Metropolitan Police Department vehicles arrived around 11 a.m. and an officer spoke to GUPD, however, they did not physically engage with protesters.
The protest comes the day after news broke that the federal government terminated the immigration statuses of approximately six Georgetown community members. Three weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security detained Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown postdoctoral fellow who is in the U.S. legally. Many of Khan Suri’s students have deemed his detention to be retaliation for his free speech and his familial ties to Hamas.
According to protesters, the rally in Healy Hall was calling for Georgetown to publicly condemn the arrest of Khan Suri, the protection of free speech, and for Georgetown to declare itself a sanctuary campus. It was scheduled to coincide with GAAP weekend to demand “no business as usual,” according to Instagram.
Photo by Eddy Binford-Ross
