Article & Photography by Luke Teigue | Owl Staff
On the day of the presidential inauguration, the road through Chinatown all the way to the Capital One Arena was lined with protesters, police, and miles of barricades.
Note: This article shares the opinion of the writer and is not a reflection of views held by Owl Media.
When I arrived in Washington. D.C. on Inauguration Day, three words came to mind- cold, curious, and uncertain. Then President-elect Trump’s swearing-in ceremony took place inside the Capitol Rotunda due to sub-freezing temperatures, similar to the start of Ronald Reagan’s second term in 1985.
Acquiring tickets to the ceremony was a nearly impossible task for the more than 200,000 people who received them originally, as the Rotunda only has a capacity of about 600. Even when considering those who opted to attend the Inaugural Parade held at the Capital One Arena, which has a capacity of 20,000 people, there still were hundreds of thousands left without a seat.
Getting into the city, especially the Capital One Arena, required extensive research on which roads and metro stations were closed and where the few entry points were located. Security fencing, National Guardsmen, Secret Service, and Metropolitan Police stretched for miles, and many were stationed in the various Metro platforms surrounding the venue.
Security fencing and wood pallets lined the streets directly outside Judiciary Square Station.
Almost immediately after leaving the closest available Metro station and finding the nearest entry gate, we were greeted with blocks upon blocks of winding steel barricades. They ran all the way through Chinatown and beyond, and as we meandered our way back and forth through the scarcely populated switchbacks, more spectators began to funnel in around us. Two boys, eager to make it inside the arena, unhooked and pushed aside the barricades, with the rest of the crowd following behind.
When the Capital One Arena finally came within view, several more blocks of barricades became visible, this time filled to the brim with people. About ten minutes after reaching the area and discussing our next move, the access point to the stretch of barricades leading to the entrance was closed off entirely.
I took one last look around the barricades and arena before turning back. Trash and personal belongings littered the streets, with backpacks, food and drink items, and even entire folding chairs left behind. Trump branded hats and other clothing articles had also been discarded.
“Outside of the arena and the surrounding blocks, D.C. was practically a ghost town.”
Thousands were turned away at the door to the arena and slowly made their way back to the exit, where we were positioned to conduct various interviews. Some felt disappointed to not have seen the ceremony or parade, while other vendors and attendees remained indifferent.
“We were directly at the door and they just cut everybody off,” one spectator explains. “It was brutal, three hours of standing, but again it’s probably the only inauguration I’d ever want to come to.”
Following the interviews, I ventured out on my own to see if there was any more to the story other than the Inaugural Parade that was now closed off. I quickly came across a demonstration being held by the Proud Boys, a far-right militant organization that has been the source of widespread controversy since Trump’s first term.
I followed as the Proud Boys continued their march towards Union Station Plaza. Upon passing the United States Capitol, some members made remarks in regard to the January 6 insurrection in 2021, and a small group of bystanders cheered them on with high-fives and fist bumps.
A bystander fist bumped members of the Proud Boys demonstration as they passed the United States Capitol.
The rest of the day remained fairly uneventful, but one thing I couldn’t help but notice on my walk back to the Metro was how quiet everything was. Outside of the arena and the surrounding blocks, D.C. was practically a ghost town. It was a serene but ever-so-slightly unsettling walk.
That feeling of uncertainty did not cease on the drive back home, and it is still, if not more present today. On that same day, President Trump signed dozens of executive orders aiming to undo various actions of the past administration, a trend that has continued through to the present. In Trump’s first 100 days alone, 143 executive orders were signed, the most out of any President’s first hundred days in U.S. history.
In many ways, that one day spent in Washington, D.C. served as a reminder for me to keep paying attention, to believe what is seen with my own eyes over what I am told by politicians and mainstream media, and to remain vigilant in the face of uncertainty. The one thing I encourage those who may feel uneasy with today’s political climate to do, is to go out into the world and your community, and do good wherever you can. Kindness transcends politics.