Inauguration Security

Students waiting at the Tenleytown Metro at 4am.

Inauguration Security

By Jackie LaFrance

Early morning Inauguration Day, the bright lights of a helicopter illuminated a street full of people chanting “O-bam-a.” The crowd was waiting to get onto the parade route to catch a glimpse of the newly sworn president of the United States -- Barack Obama.

By 8 a.m., after gathering since 5:30 a.m. or earlier, there were 8,000 people at the intersection of D and 7^th Sts. NW. By 9:30, that number had swelled to tens of thousands, packed tighter than sardines. It was a situation ripe for rumors.

Word was that 100 people had been trampled at the checkpoint, that a woman had been killed by a Metro train and that officers were scanning faces to run through a database of terrorist suspects. Few, if any proved to be true. In fact, no arrests were made and few injuries were reported.

One rumor was started by an AlertDC text message, which stated, “Metro reports disruption at Gallery Place-Chinatown in both directions. Expect Delays in both directions due to a 68 yr old female struck by a train at Gallery Place station MPD, FEMS DDOT on scene.” The message came at 10 am, around the same time the security checkpoint opened. Some of the rumors based off of this text message included that the woman died, the city would be placed on lockdown, the entire Metro system would be closed until further notice and that the Inauguration could be cancelled due to the woman’s death. The real situation was vastly different, according to the Washington Post. The woman slipped onto the tracks and was able to hide before she could have been hit by the an oncoming train. She was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The rumors gave the crowds fodder for gossip, as perfect strangers became friends in the cramped conditions. Also, some of the rumors were based in truth, showing that even in a crowd of thousands of people Americans are never without some way of getting in touch with the news.

Cold weather conditions led to raised tempers for some, although some members of the crowd were there to see history. “We’re gonna riot!” exclaimed Dr Donna Bell, a NY resident. “If it’s gonna help us get in, we’re gonna nock the gates over!” No riot actually occurred.

The cold weather and cramped conditions caused problems aside from rumors. An elderly man fainted in the crowd, and a doctor had to fight with members of the MPD to let the man lie on a clear patch of ground on the other side of a barricade, one passerby stated. “The ambulance took him away in a stretcher,” stated Shawn Bell, a New York resident.

One Washington, D.C. resident who attended the inaugurations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, said the security for Obama’s parade was extreme. “The irony is, we were here for the Bush parade also. Of course, none of this security. We just walked in,” said Nancy Lubin.

Eventually, the 7^th Street crowd got through the checkpoint in time to see the parade, which was delayed by an hour. “It would have been better if Disney did the security,” one person commented before going through the Secret Service checkpoint. “There are never crowds at Disney, and it’s never been attacked!”

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