OPINION:
I attended the first Obama inauguration and tried to attend last Friday’s event. I have no doubt the crowd on the mall at Mr. Obama’s was larger, but I am surprised at the absence of media coverage of the obstacles that prevented many people from attending Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
Eight years ago we easily walked onto the Mall two hours before the oath ceremony. This year we ran into entrances blocked by protesters. We stood in one line for well over an hour and never got near the Mall. There were six metal-detector gates at the head of the line that operated very slowly. We gave up on the line about 20 minutes after the ceremony was underway. At that time there must have been 10,000 people still in line at that one entrance. How many people were stuck at other such gates or gave up altogether and went home?
Also of note, eight years ago I recall no demonstrations. This year we were constantly harassed and even pushed around by numerous loud, vulgar and aggressive protesters who seemed to be deliberately funneled into the crowds hoping to attend this most American of events. Shame on the officials responsible for orchestrating this mess.
JAMES MORNINGSTAR
Frederick
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