On January 20th 2025, the United States celebrated our 60th inauguration for the 47th president, Donald Trump and the 50th Vice President, JD Vance. Originally the inaugural ceremony was set to take place outside on Capitol Hill, but due to the drop in weather it was moved inside the Capitol Rotunda and inside Capital One Arena for the general public along with the parade.
Although I originally got tickets to the Inauguration on Capitol Hill, when the location changed those tickets were refunded and no longer usable. So, I quickly got online and RSVPd for a seat in the arena. Although it was not guaranteed I would get in, I had to try.
I woke up at 5:00 am Monday morning, and put on three layers of clothing after reading the temperature was only 19° in DC. My mom and I took an Uber to the city, which ended up being a short drive due to all the streets closed for security. Big military trucks, 18 wheelers, and even a tank were used to block streets and entryways as far as three miles away from the Capitol. It honestly looked like I was in the Hunger Games.
At first the line to get into Capital One Arena seemed empty, which is what you might think for being there at 6:00 in the morning, however my smile and fast moving feet slowly came to a stop. This is where the waiting started, and it didn’t stop anytime soon. I waited a little over four hours in that line. Wind pelting me in the face, blowing down my jacket that felt thinner and thinner each hour, and by hour 4 my feet were frozen numb, for all I knew my toes could have fallen off completely. The crowd around me grew rapidly and soon I was in the middle of a cold, impatient, and chaotic line of people. Every once and a while someone would cut the line and the whole mob of people would boo and scream; most of the time the cutter would leave out of pure embarrassment or fear one of the hundreds of cops would say something to them.
One more block left and I started to worry. Twice I heard angry yells and booing ahead of me that I assumed meant we wouldn’t be let in, but we kept going. At this point the streets were filled with food, garbage, chairs, clothing, and even bags. I was confused why so much of people’s belongings had been left and the closer we got to the front the more and more bags were scattered around. We saw Gucci, Coach, and Prada bags left on the ground- yes real ones. My mom and I saw the Mount Everest sized pile of all kinds of bags and heard security guards yell, “No bags will be allowed in at this time! Drop them or turn around!”. Luckily my mom had used a clear bag just in case, which they let in. They did not allow her second small bag with snacks and gloves inside. We grabbed the gloves and she threw the bag right on top of the mountain and we kept walking.
Once we were through security we ran for the doors of the heated building. We cheered and jumped around with the people who were in line with us, all happy to have finally made it. I sat down in my seat which was on the very top floor overlooking the entire arena just in time for the ceremony to start. The arena played upbeat, joyful music like “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Sweet Caroline.”
The actual ceremony was displayed on the big screens in the arena. The audience went silent for a moment but then grew loud in a cheer. With each political figure that walked into the Capitol the people would either celebrate or boo along with throwing out nicknames or comments at times. People laughed at funny photobombing moments on screen, and some raised hands and swayed as if they were in church. Once Trump was on the screen, the audience stood up, cheered, whistled, waved American flags, and began chanting “USA.”
Amy Klobuchar, a Senator from Minnesota, began the ceremony, reminding everyone that we were here to “Witness [a] peaceful transfer of powers.” but reassured the audience that “the power of those in [the Capitol] comes from the people.”, which I thought was a powerful way to begin such an important and impactful day for all americans.
I talked to Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, who was inside the Capitol Rotunda during the inauguration. She told me afterward, “being inside the capitol Rotunda surrounded by portraits of America’s history was a reminder of why the inaugural is a great day, not just for the political party assuming power, but for every American…I was honored to be a part of it.” Although I was definitely not in the Capitol with her, I too felt the power and almost pressure of being able to witness such an intense historical day.
After the ceremony was over, while most people went on with their day, the people who filled the arena got to wait some more. In this time, people got food from the concession stands, talked to those around them, and listened to various speakers talk in the arena itself such as Elon Musk and various conservative members of congress.
After three more hours, the inaugural parade started, which took place inside Capital One Arena. Various high school bands and law enforcement groups walked together in the parade. One of my good friends, Luci Zigrino, attends the New York Military Academy and just so happened to be walking in the parade. At school for the weeks leading up to the inauguration, the group who would attend the parade practiced marching with their ranks for a couple hours each day. She also got fit for specific uniforms to look their best. She also had to send personal information including social security numbers and verification photos for safety.
She told me how “going through security was a long process.” and this was true on the day of the inauguration as well.
Before even going to the arena her school went to the Pentagon to go through secret service screening and more security checks. From there they were escorted by police to the arena, traveling by vans. Once she arrived at the arena police K-9s inspected each vehicle before they got escorted to more security checkpoints.
They waited in a “holding room” until it was time to practice and march. She said being able to be in the parade was “exciting knowing that millions of people all over the country were watching me and my friends…we were all a bit nervous due to the volume of the arena and being able to hear our commands” she followed with meaning how “careful we needed to be to try and look perfect.”
Afterwards, she had to wait for Trump to leave the premises before her school could. Once this happened she lined up with her classmates to be escorted out by military guards.
As for the general public, even as the event came close to ending, people hurried out of the arena before it became a mad rush. Unfortunately on the way out we could not go back and check what had been left behind, although I am assuming those designer bags didn’t stay out on the street long.
