WASHINGTON — Freezing temperatures may have uprooted the location of Inauguration Day, but it did not deter President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters from celebrating Sunday as thousands camped outside Capital One Arena where Trump made his first major speech in the District since he spoke at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021.
Two hours before the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” was scheduled to begin, the line to enter the Penn Quarter entertainment venue stretched more than a mile through Chinatown, with some in the crowd expressing concerns that they wouldn’t make it into the event. The arena has a capacity of 20,000.
WUSA9 spoke to crowd members waiting in line who said they had been there since 5 a.m. and despite the poor weather, they were excited to make it to D.C. But by 5 p.m., some of the attendees who had withstood the sleet and freezing rain for hours were turned away once the venue hit capacity.
“We got here at 8:30 a.m. but tomorrow we are going to get here at 4 a.m.,” 16-year-old Hudson Gjone from South Carolina said, noting that standing in line for a political rally was a new experience for him.
“I think this is a pivotal point in America, and the world as a matter of fact,” said Menno Koehoorn, who had traveled from British Columbia to D.C. “Because the people are actually in control again. And this is actually amazing.”
Along with the crowds of Trump faithfuls descending on the District came the merchants who have followed Trump from state to state across his multiple campaigns, each peddling their own specialty items.
“No doubt about it you can make a successful living selling nothing but Donald Trump merchandise,” said Montreal Russell who had come up from North Carolina.
Inside Capital One, speakers included Trump’s incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who said the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal wouldn’t have happened without Trump; the incoming deputy chief of policy Stephen Miller, who referenced “taking America back” through mass deportations; Actor Jon Voight, who will serve as a “special envoy” to Hollywood said Trump was a man who never gave up on the American people; and Elon Musk who said Trump’s victory was only the start.
Just before 5:30 p.m., Trump walked down the aisles to greet attendees and take the stage as “God Bless the USA” played.
“Tomorrow, at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline and we begin a brand-new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” the president-elect told supporters, promising to repeal every “radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration” within hours of his Inauguration.
Capital One Arena will also serve as the official viewing location for Monday’s Inaugural swearing-in ceremonies and parade, with cold weather forcing events indoors. The Presidential Inaugural Committee also asked the National Park Service to remove jumbotrons from the National Mall.
“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade,” the president-elect wrote Friday on Truth Social. “I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.”
It is still unclear who will have access to Capital One on Monday, given that more than 250,000 guests were ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds and tens of thousands more were expected to be in general admission areas or to line the inaugural parade route from the Capitol to the White House.
As far as security goes, much of the safety perimeter surrounding the U.S. Capitol will stay in place, while the Secret Service said the perimeter around Capital One Arena was expanded after the announcement of Monday’s location changes.
“We basically moved out three blocks so we will have two layers of anti-scale fencing that you’ll see,” Secret Service Agent Matt McCool said. “We’ll have hard blocking vehicles and concrete and then we’ll have another block expanded out there.”
Approximately 4,000 officers from 32 states will join D.C. officers and agencies to provide Inauguration Day security, totaling 25,000 officers. DC Police say there are 19 planned protests that have been permitted.
