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Dispatches From the Inauguration Day Scene
From staff reports
Saturday, January 20, 2001; 5:02 PM
The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com have more than
50 reporters in Washington reporting on the inauguration. Check back here
for updates throughout the day.
Avram Goldstein, 4:30 p.m., along the parade route:
President Bush’s motorcade came to a halt for about five
minutes between 12th and 13th Streets, about a half-block before passing
a knot of protesters. One city official, who asked not to be identified,
said the holdup allowed some security forces following Bush’s limousine
to catch up so that he could pass the protesters with police at full strength
around him.
A few projectiles were thrown from the sidewalks onto
the roadway after President Bush had passed by, but they did not appear
to be aimed at anyone in particular and landed harmlessly, said Peter G.
LaPorte, the District’s director of emergency management.
LaPorte declined to estimate the number of spectators along the parade route, but he did say it was clear that the inclement weather suppressed turnout. “The crowds weren’t as big as they could have been,” he said.
Chris Jenkins, 4:30 p.m., along the parade route
Nikolai Kouznetsov had perfect timing. All afternoon,
he was bundled asleep in his parents’ arms dressed warmly in an olive green
parka, but as President Bush made his way along Constitution Avenue, the
2-year-old woke up to see the newly sworn-in president pass by. “There
you go, wave to President Bush,” said his mother, Victoria Bingham. “You
see, you woke up just in time.”
As the afternoon chill continued, thousands of spectators
along the parade route were finally moved by the marching and thumping
of dozens of bands. Some decided to participate on the sidelines for themselves.
“Did you see that leg kick?” an amazed Charrise Agee said
as she watched the Grambling State Marching Band strut down Constitution
Avenue. Agee started to imitate some of the band's moves herself. “How
do they do that in this cold and rain?”
The band stopped for a moment marching in place. “You
go girls! You go boys!” screamed Agee. She turned to her sister and said,
“God, I love watching them do that.”
Veronica Ferguson had a similar response to the Air Force
Marching Band as it marched past her earlier in the day. She went as far
as to call her mother on her cell phone to keep her in touch with the action.
“Do you hear them, Mom?” she said into the phone. Her mother, Stacy, was
home sick in bed in Vienna. “It’s too bad that you’re not here, 'cause
you’re really missing a treat.”
As the parade continued throughout the day, many of the onlookers headed for warmer and drier spots leaving Pennsylvania Avenue. Toni Simms from Toledo was one of the diehards who stayed. She was reveling in the SMU Marching Band as they walked by in green blazers and black pants. “I’ve never been to an inauguration before, but the eight-hour trip has been worth every minute. I wanted to bring my entire family, but everybody couldn’t fit in our car.”
Graeme Zelinski, 4:25 p.m., along the parade route
At the end of his long march, University of Texas marching
band saxophonist Nathan Howell said that the smattering of protesters along
the parade route “were nothing” compared to what he faces on a regular
basis at visiting football stadiums. “That’s usually a lot worse. At Texas
Tech, they throw tortillas at us. Today, there was really nothing, except
a few Texas A&M people jeered at us” he said.
Howell admitted to breaking protocol so he could sneak
a good look at Bush. “I stopped playing when we went by the stand so I
could look over him, but don’t tell my band director that,” Howell said.
At the end of the parade, actress Nell Carter was escorted off one of the lead floats in the parade. “My feet, my feet” she said to an escort. She said, “I’m frostbitten from the cold. I’m going to to back to the hotel and take a warm bath before the ball.”
Sylvia Moreno, 4 p.m., Seventh Street NW south of Pennsylvania
Avenue
Marilyn Ryerse and her husband, David, of Newport News,
and their daughter Karen Benke and her husband, Matthew, of Woodbrigde,
were headed home about 4 p.m. after having been outside since 9 a.m. coping
with the drizzle, the cold, the crowds and the security. But it was all
worth it to them, they said.
“We’re just glad that George W. Bush is our president
now,” David Ryerse said.
“He represents what we believe and what our country believes in,” Marilyn Ryerse said. “He is a man of integrity and honesty, and we feel he will be a very honorable president.”
Jason Thompson, 4 p.m., U.S. Capitol:
Not even near-freezing temperatures and a steady drizzle
of stinging rain could dampen the spirits of the mostly partisan crowd
gathered on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Saturday morning.
"It's almost over!" one well-bundled man yelled as President
Bush's motorcade came into view down Pennsylvania Avenue. "No more Clinton!"
With massive video screens flanking the Capitol stage,
the crowd greeted every shot of key players from the incoming administration
with cheers and applause as energetic as the elements would allow. The
introduction of former president George Bush and Barbara Bush provoked
an energetic standing ovation.
"The weather's bad, but it's worth it to see something like this," said Sharon Mabrey, visiting with her family from Pennsylvania. "It's the president."
Nancy Trejos, 3:45 p.m.
Donna Jackson and Preston Bridgewater admitted it: they’re
huge Bush fans.
“He was a good governor,” Jackson said.
The couple flew from Houston to see their favorite former
governor take over the White House.
As they stood a block from the White House waiting for
Bush to arrive, Preston recalled the days when the elder George Bush was
his Sunday School teacher in Midland, Tex. He told stories of his flying
days, Bridgewater said.
“I started flying myself,” Bridgewater said.
At 3:25 p.m., they caught sight of Bush’s limousine and
wondered if he would walk the last block of the parade route. “I wouldn’t
walk if I were him. He’s not used to the cold,” Jackson said.
Bridgewater snapped pictures as Jackson, her red leather
jacket drenched, hopped around to keep warm.
Then the cheers grew louder as Bush abandoned his limousine for a stroll down the slippery road. As he walked past the couple, Bridgewater yelled out, “Go Quail Hunting.” Then the president looked over and nodded.
Amy Argetsinger, 3:35 p.m., along the parade route
Protesters and supporters alike complained that it was
unusually difficult to get around at this year’s parade, citing long lines
at Metro station ticket machines and long backups at checkpoints that sent
some people circling the long way around city blocks looking for easier
passage.
Early arrivers, who had waited up to half an hour or more
to pass through checkpoints, were particularly aggrieved by the apparent
scarcity of public toilets within the viewing area. After noon though,
the wait at many checkpoints had decreased to less than a minute, allowing
easy passage out and back in to the viewing area.
Some Bush supporters blanched at the vehemence of the
protests. Mary Early, of Chester, Pa., staked out a spot on 15th Street
NW with a group of “mid-Baby Boomer” friends from high school. “We had
to leave another corner because it looked like it might get...” Early paused.
“Ugly.” She said though that the protests did not mar the day. “That’s
what it’s all about,” she said. “People get to express their feelings.”
Rich and Kim Plumridge, of Lafayette, Colo., applauded the tightened security at the parade. “It’s not just domestic threats, but international ones as well,” said Kim Plumridge, 53. The Plumridges both campaigned for Bush but did not object to the protesters. “It’s a demonstration of freedom of speech. It gets opposing views out to the public,” said Rich Plumridge, 55. “The tone has been nasty and personal rather than political, but that’s their entitlement.”
Bill Miller 3:30 p.m., Seventh and D streets NW
By 3:20 p.m., minutes after Bush’s limousine had passed
by, police took down the barricades at Seventh and D streets NW. About
25 officers, some in riot gear, marched away from the scene. They left
behind the remnants of their checkpoint including many items confiscated
earlier in the day. A bench on the sidewalk showed the bounty: 17 bottles
of water, juice and soda, three golf balls and a clothesline.
Along came Greg Packer, 37, a highway worker visiting
from Huntington, N.Y.
“This doesn’t look like it was even opened,” he said, picking up a bottle of orange juice. He walked away with his treat.
Tracey Reeves, 3:30 p.m., along the parade route
Molly Schmeisser, of Leonardtown, took in the inaugural
with her 7-year-old daughter, Keara, and husband, Stephen.
“I’m proud to be an American and I’m proud to be a Republican,”
an enthusiastic Schmeisser said upon seeing the president’s motorcade drive
by.
To prove her support, Schmeisser with help from her daughter,
created a sign made of red felt letters on white posterboard that read,
God Bless President Bush.
“I stood up right there and held that sign,” Schmeisser said, “and Lynne Cheney saw it.”
Christina Pino-Marina, 3:30 p.m., Freedom Plaza:
Several hundred protesters filled Freedom Plaza about
3:30 p.m., taking many of the seats in the stands that had been expected
to be occupied by spectators. After waiting all day in the rain, the demonstrators
finally got the chance to show their signs off to the new president as
the limousine passed by just before 3:30 p.m.
As the limousine passed the crowd, the chants and boos
were deafening. Protesters held upside-down flags and signs expressing
opinions on everything from globalization to racism. One of the more pessimistic
signs read: “We’re all dead.”
The police presence was felt all day around Freedom Plaza.
Police officers in the streets were lined up three and four deep and a
metal barricade could be seen all along Pennsylvania Avenue.
One of the younger protesters in the group, 18-year-old Lily Sidgeo-Gardner of Hartford, Conn., said: “I bet you got an eyeful. How would you like it if you were the president and you had to see all this?”
Suzette McLoone, 3:23 p.m., Constitution and Pennsylvania
Avenues NW:
After a long delay, the parade finally started.
The Air Force, Marine and Navy bands marched by, followed
shortly by President Bush and his escort. Spectators were disappointed
that they couldn't see him through the dark tint of the limousine's windows.
After a short pause, Vice President Cheney's limousine
drove past, and the parade seemingly came to a standstill. Many people
were leaving, having seen the president and vice president drive by.
"The parade's been a long wait, but it was well worth seeing him," said 17-year-old Buffy Brotherton, a student from Alvin, Tex. "The excitement and the thrill and being all together as one made it worth it."
Bill Miller, 3:10 p.m., Seventh and D Streets NW:
More than 200 demonstrators crashed through a police checkpoint
at Seventh and D Streets NW just before 1 p.m., bringing out a small army
of D.C. police in riot gear and forcing the closing of the checkpoint.
The checkpoint remained closed at 3 p.m., well after the
parade started, forcing hundreds of people to walk a few blocks to the
nearest entry point.
Jake Boesen, a supervisor on a security detail of the
Presidential Inaugural Committee, said authorities had no major problems
until the incident.
Boesen said the demonstrators toppled over a metal barricade,
damaged the fender of one police car, shattered the window of another police
car and snatched an American flag from the hands of a young girl and set
fire to it.
Although police arrived quickly, Boesen said, the demonstrators
quickly fit in with other spectators and no arrests were made.
“So now we have between 200 and 300 people whose bags
haven’t been checked, and who breached security along the parade. We feel
bad for the people who were just here and who had to go to other checkpoints,”
said Boesen.
Boesen said the decision to close the checkpoint was made by D.C. police and Secret Service officials, adding he was uncertain whether it would reopen later in the day.
Sewell Chan, 3:10 p.m., Freedom Plaza:
As the parade got underway, the crowd grew furious chanting,
“Bush go home, coup d’etat, shame on you.” Officers from D.C. and Fairfax
police lined up facing the protesters on the north side of Pennsylvania
Avenue NW at Freedom Plaza.
Earlier, about 2:15 p.m., Malik Zulu Shabazz said, “This is the largest anti-inauguration demonstration ever in the history of the United States.”
Sylvia Moreno, 3:05 p.m.:
The boy’s quivering lips and panic stricken eyes were
an easy giveaway. "Lost child" was written all over his face. But he had
made his way to a National Park Service ranger, who quickly pulled out
a cell phone and called the boy’s mother. Ten-year-old Ryan McPoland of
Ashburn Farms was alright. “His father is lost,” Hagen joked in an attempt
to calm down the boy.
It was no joke to Dad, however. Michael McPoland walked up about 15 minutes after the two had separated. He thanked the ranger for his help and called his wife to tell her they had been reunited. As for his son, he had these words: “You’re grounded for a month.”
David Fallis, 2:30 p.m., Navy Memorial:
At the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue between Seventh
and Ninth streets NW across from the National Archives, police charged
into the crowd after protesters climbed the ship mast in the plaza and
began lowering the flags of eight to 12 countries and raising their own
flags.
Four or five protesters in black masks scaled the flagpole,
waving banners and yelling for about five minutes before police climbed
barricades and attempted to break up the demonstration.
The crowd was pushed up against barricades as protesters skirmished with officers. Fifty to 75 officers in riot gear seized sticks and flags from protesters. It was unclear if anybody was arrested; the parade had not yet started.
Peter Whoriskey, 2:25 p.m., along the parade route:
The weather was so dreary that even by 2 p.m. many of
the prime seats facing Pennsylvania Avenue stood empty. Those who were
there had paid as much as $125 for the pleasure of enduring the driving,
frigid rain. Yet they were adamant that the honor was worth the shivering.
Most of the people seated in the area had Republican Party
connections. There was a developer from the Dallas area, a farmer from
Iowa and the owner of a meat store from Merrimac, Mass. “After all the
waiting, this is just so wonderful. No matter what the weather,” said Joseph
Terrazzano, who owns Haverhill Beef in Massachusetts. “We were very fortunate
to get tickets to be here.”
Pam Younggren of Fargo, N.D., described herself as a Republican
Party volunteer. “This day is not cold and miserable,” she said. “For someone
from Fargo, it’s balmy.”
Emily Jones, 16, and Charles Jones, 11, sitting nearby professed no particular political allegiances. “It’s really cold—this is the coldest we’ve ever been,” said Emily who came up from Palm Beach. So why are you here? “My brother,” said Charles, “he’s in the marching band from SMU.”
Christina Samuels, 2:15 p.m., Borders Bookstore at 14th
and F streets NW:
The Borders Bookstore cafe at 14th and F Streets NW became
an impromptu headquarters for protesters over the course of the day.
Wet, cold people came in for coffee, fruit juice and cake,
carrying their signs and "Hail to the Thief" balloons.
One was 16-year-old Cait Lavin, who made the trip down
from Bangor, Maine, with 60 classmates. While most of them went to hear
President Bush speak, Lavin protested with seven others.
“I’m glad that I’m here,” Lavin said, eating potato chips and cheesecake. “The people didn’t elect him, so it’s good that we can come out and say we didn’t support him.”
Sylvia Moreno, on the Mall:
The public spectacle of a new president assuming power
and addressing the public out in the open took on a special meaning for
Japanese students Takuro Sugihara, 21, of Hiroshima and Takayuki Uno, 24,
of Tokyo. In Japan, they said, citizens don’t even get a direct voice in
the election of their head of state. Both students are working this year
at the Alexandria-based International Internship Programs.
“We don’t have public events like this,” Sugihara said.
“Here we can feel very close to your president.”
Uno said, “We don’t even chose our own prime minister. So for us this is a very special event.”
Josh White, 1:55 p.m., Pennsylvania Avenue:
Police and Secret Service shut down entrances and exits
along the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, causing trouble for dozens
of pedestrians who wanted to leave the crowded streets.
A number of people walked between Sixth and 12th streets
looking for an exit and at one point, almost 50 people were trying to convince
an officer at 12th Street to let them through.
Craig Far, 38, of Adams Morgan, said he was frustrated
after trying to leave for more than half an hour. “I didn’t understand
when we got checked in that I wouldn’t be able to leave when I wanted to,”
said Far, who joined a protest this morning and was not interested in watching
the parade. “Now I feel confined. I just want to leave.”
About 1:55, police opened the barricade at 12th Street to a cheer of “Thank you.” Authorities at the scene said there was a specific reason for shutting the exits off but would not elaborate.
Suzette McLoone, Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues
NW, 1:52 p.m.
It's starting to rain a little harder, and that rain seems
to be keeping people fairly sedate as they try to keep warm and dry. Parade
watchers, Bush-Cheney supporters and protesters are starting to settle
into their spots to watch the parade.
"I'm just waiting for it to start, trying to keep warm,"
said Jay Fuller, a retired Air Force member who was holding a sign reading
"Veteran, Patriot, Republican." "I'm not overly impressed with the protesters.
Some of them seem far out, but some of them seem interesting." Fuller was
standing in a crowd of people holding signs reading "Celebrating America's
Spirit Together" and chanting "We love Bush."
Protesters are staying fairly separate from Republican
supporters.
Green-haired Drue Heidraken, of Chicago, is not your picture
of a typical Bush supporter. "I had to lose some spikes" going through
a security checkpoint, he said, pointing to the shoulders of his black
leather jacket, now missing his usual three-inch spikes.
"We're happy that things seem to be going smoothly and
peacefully," Heidraken said. "I find the protesters annoying, but one of
the great things about this country is that we can have that."
He said the checkpoints slowed things down a bit, and aside from having to remove his spikes, "they were mostly nice."
Graeme Zelinski, 1:50 p.m., 12th Street and Pennsylvania
Avenue NW
A large crowd that had been waiting to pass through stanchions
at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue finally was allowed to get through.
A police officer at the intersection of 12th and E streets said the protesters
were being ushered through and let out because they were getting “too troublesome.”
But the large group of parade-goers who were let out included fur-coated
Republicans as well.
“I just had to use the bathroom,” said a woman named Jane who sported a large “Hail to the Thief” sandwich board.
Arthur Santana, 1:50 p.m., 14th and K streets NW
D.C. police spotted a group of about 100 demonstrators,
some of whom were slashing car tires about 11 a.m today at 13th and L streets
NW, Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said.
It was originally suspected that protesters had grown
frustrated that they were not allowed into Freedom Park right away, Gainer
said. The protest group then began to gather at 14th and K streets NW and
seemed to be gaining strength as police tried to corral them in a building
in the northwest corner of 14th and K.
“But the crowd of protesters kept swelling,” Gainer said.
“They counter-flanked our officers.”
Police immediately called in five more civil disturbance
unit platoons, each made up of 37 officers, to try to quell the unruly
crowd. Gainer ordered his officers not to make any arrests because the
crowd was too large, there initially weren’t enough officers to make mass
arrests, and Gainer said he feared that making arrests would incite the
crowd. At one point during the disturbance, National Park Police mounted
patrols were called in and police officers on foot changed from their blue
uniforms into riot gear to deal with the crowd. Eventually the group, which
saw that police were not going to engage them, “just melted away,” Gainer
said.
As to why he made a decision not to make any arrests,
Gainer said, “It’s not always worth battling large crowds to make a few
arrests.” Gainer said he thinks what turned out to be the most lively part
of the morning in the end went well. “We think both sides succeeded in
what they set out to do. They drew attention to themselves. We were able
to control them as a large group. Everyone just held their ground.”
Gainer and D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey didn’t attend
the swearing-in of the new president because of the melee at that intersection.
“Well, now we have ourselves a new president,” Ramsey said. “Now we just need to get him to his house.”
Linda Wheeler, 1:30 p.m., 13th Street and Pennsylvania
Avenue NW:
Among those waiting for the parade to start at 13th and
Pennsylvania Avenue was Cathy Horton, 44, of Crawford, Tex. Horton said
that she is the founder of the Beautify Crawford Committee and that she
helped raise $14,000 to bring 16 Boy Scouts and 62 band members to Washington.
She rode the bus with them, a 30-hour trip.
“We only got started on the fundraising a week ago Thursday.
We just went door-to-door, we had to go to Waco because we had only one
business in Crawford. That’s Frankland Industry.... They gave us five thousand
dollars.
“Our precinct voted 83 percent pro Bush,” she said, smiling
broadly.
She and others from Crawford were sandwiched in with the
anti-Bush demonstrators. One of the demonstrators shouted at the police
that had lined up on Pennsylvania Avenue, “Who are you protecting, and
who are you protecting us from?”
Horton looked in his direction and said quietly, “Me.
I’m glad the police are here. I am thankful for the police.”
Horton pulled her fur coat tightly around herself and
adjusted her white cowboy hat. She said she was worried about people throwing
paint on her because of the coat.
“Actually it’s a faux fur. I’m an environmentalist, you know. If I see anybody with a bucket of paint I’m just going to say acrylic, acrylic.”
Hamil Harris, 1:20 p.m., near the U.S. Capitol:
The Rev. Al Sharpton and his noisy band of protesters
were allowed to reach the sidewalk of the U.S. Capitol before helmeted
Capitol Police and Supreme Court Police diverted their march back across
First Street, to a Supreme Court sidewalk that Sharpton used to circle
the high court chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.”
D.C. police officers form a barrier in front of protesters
marching against the inauguration of President Bush. (Joshua Roberts -
AFP)
But the New York minister said in an interview as he led
the procession: “It was important to let Mr. Bush know that there is a
movement of resistance and nothing has changed since the November 7 election....
We will continue this fight until there is a change in election laws in
this country.”
The police stood in a column along First Street keeping protesters on one sidewalk and those leaving the swearing-in of George W. Bush on the other sidewalk. Those from two worlds co-existed peacefully.
Sylvia Moreno, 1:15 p.m., Mall:
Fifty-seven students of the Alabama Elvin Hill Music Company
came to Washington to perform at an inaugural party tonight and got to
see history.
Bundled up in scarves and hats, parkas and gloves, the
mini singers and dancers milled about the Mall with their chaperones, who
admitted that they had voted for Gore but now said, “We’re neutral.”
“It’s a great experience,” said Pamela Morgan, a fifth-grader at Elvin Hill Elementary school in Columbiana, Ala. “And I think it's a blessing to be here.”
Maria Glod, 1 p.m., 7th Street
Protesters marched down 7th Street carrying signs saying
“Illegitimate” and “One Person One Vote” and “Thief.” One man, dressed
in black, climbed atop a street light and waved a black flag.
The march sparked an influx of police, some wearing riot gear and holding batons, to the intersection. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder five rows deep the officers kept close watch as the crowd chanted “Stop the intimidation.”
Chris Jenkins, 1 p.m., Constitution Avenue:
Hours before the parade was set to start, spectators lined
Constitution Avenue hoping to catch some glimpse of George W. Bush—sometimes
at any cost.
“Chris, can I get on top of your shoulders” Lauren Burke,
21, said to her friend in a drizzling rain. “I just want to get a good
peek of him as he comes by.”
It was that kind of morning as thousands of spectators
waited for the parade to start. But many were as excited about seeing Bush
head to the Capitol as they were about seeing the elaborate floats and
procession in the afternoon parade. They filmed on camcorders, peered through
binoculars and held their breath in anticipation as Bush headed to the
Capitol for the swearing in. “Okay here he comes.... I think,” said Tom
Sobecki, a lawyer from Toledo. “That’s him!” Alas, it wasn’t.
Another limo was way in front of Bush fooling Sobecki.
“Okay, let’s try that again,” he said to his son. As he pointed his camcorder,
several more limos passed by. “Okay, it’s him, he’s waving, Did you get
it?” he asked his son, Joseph, 11, who patted his father on the shoulder.
“Got it,” said Joseph. They slapped hands.
© 2001 Washington Post Newsweek Interactive