Inauguration Ticket Pandemonium: NEVER AGAIN!

11:41 am PST, Mar 4, Joyce Ivy, California
I had a Purple Ticket on Inauguration Day. I spent 4 hours in line and did not get it. I deserve more than a letter of apology.

1:45 pm PST, Jan 27, Kristen Labbate, Florida
I flew up from Florida to take part in this historic day. I spent the morning in a tunnel, which I have since learned, I never should have been in. Our attempts to obtain guidance from police, secret service, FBI and other were largely ignored. It was quite an expensive disappointment for me. Please insure better planning to avoid such problems in the future.

7:03 am PST, Jan 27, J. Desmond Dean, Georgia

6:53 pm PST, Jan 26, Karen Pearson, West Virginia
I to was one of those who traveled far to witness this historical occasion and stopped at the dreaded Blue Gate, Yes, I am disapointed but this was a once in life time experience and I was proud to be among the many, many people that did get to witness this historical event. Also, I can still say that I was there eventhough, I did not get to see anything.

6:02 pm PST, Jan 26, James Parks, Rhode Island
It was so bad that mere words cannot express my sadness...someone should come up with a solution to this mess..I had tickets, it was a lifetime event..what else can we add ?

4:22 pm PST, Jan 25, Name not displayed, Texas
MY NAME CAME UP ON THE LOTTERY THAT I WAS TO RECEIVE TWO TICKETS TO THE INAUGURATION. I FLEW FROM TEXAS TO DC TO COLLECT THE TICKETS. I WAS SUPPOSE TO BE LET IN ON THE BLUE GATE ENTRANCE AND NEVER MADE IT IN. I WAS DENIED. I ARRIVED AT MY GATE AT 7AM. ONE PERSON IN THE CROWD STATED THAT THE SECURITY CHE CK POINT AT THE GATE HAD BROKEN. I WAITED AND WAITED. I BEGAN TO CRY WHEN I HEARD ARETHA FRANKLIN SINGING THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THAT THEY WERE REALLY NOT LETTING US IN THE GATE. NO ONE CAME OUT TO EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON. I FELT BETRAYED. I HAD SPENT SOOO.. MUCH MONEY ON THIS TRIP AND MY EXPERIENCE WAS DENIED.

6:45 am PST, Jan 25, Mary Chiero, Illinois
The Inauguration Day event is one that I will never forget. I won't forget it because it was a horrible day filled with much disappointment where I had high expectaion. Everything was poorly run and screamed that no one cared we were even in the tunnel.

12:18 am PST, Jan 25, Name not displayed, California
I was in a group of 5 people. We were directed to the tunnel by a police officer and arrived there before 6. We waited in the cold for more than 5 hours without access to any toilet facilities. When we emerged from the tunnel (it was after 11 by then ) there was a dangerous crush of people jammed where the gate was, but the gate was closed. We managed to make it to a bar (just barely) in time to watch the swearing-in on a small tv.

10:39 pm PST, Jan 24, Susan Handley, Illinois
My group was in the tunnel from 6:30am until 11:15am. It was disorganized, unsupervised, and a huge safety and security breach. Luckily for those in charge nothing bad happened to us, them (wherever "they" were?) and to the participants of the inauguration. Chicago hosted a much better organized event, albeit it smaller...but maybe not if you just address the ticketed areas. I am shocked and appalled that our nation's capitol failed miserably in all aspects. S. Handley AH , IL

8:22 pm PST, Jan 24, Darren Binder, Washington D.C.
I was a purple ticketholder who did not get into the inauguration despite following all of the JCICC instructions. There was virtually no police presence at the purple section and zero communication. A dangerous sitation was created. And, also, there were many thousands of us...not just 5,000 as originally stated.

7:02 pm PST, Jan 24, Name not displayed, Arkansas
I was in that tunnel for 5.5 hours and didn't get in to the inauguration

5:20 pm PST, Jan 24, Name not displayed, Maryland

5:10 pm PST, Jan 24, Emily Mason, New York

4:56 pm PST, Jan 24, Deborah Bissonnette, Wisconsin
My son, Joseph and I were Purple Ticket holders. We were thrilled to get our tickets from Congressman Tom Petri. Of course we still have our tickets because could never get near enough to the gate to give anyone our tickets. We were very very disappointed and shocked at the mismanagement and total negligence that we experienced. It is only because of the quality of the people who waited in this extremely frustrating situation that no one was injured and no property destroyed.

4:55 pm PST, Jan 24, Gene Brake, Virginia
We care and don't want anyone to go through what we did. For the past year, it was Yes We Can, on November 4th it was Yes We Did and after 1-20-2009 it changed to No You Can't ....treat people like this and get away with it.

4:25 pm PST, Jan 24, Joseph Ryan, California

4:02 pm PST, Jan 24, Janice Hough, California
What???!!! There were 4000-5000 blue ticket holders just that I could see in the immediate gate area. And there were many many more behind me. Of all the blue ticket holders I know two got in barely, two got in the silver entrance when people broke down the gates, and the rest of us got nowhere. (And we came at different times and from difference places...)

3:57 pm PST, Jan 24, Guy Smith, New York
This was an incredibly dangerous situation that must be taken seriously.

3:50 pm PST, Jan 24, Name not displayed, New York
We volunteered for Obama in six states and I worked for the campaign as well. What isn't being talked about is that most of Obama's field organizers were given purple tickets, so most of Obama's field organizers didn't get to see the inauguration. We arrived in line at 7AM, but I spoke with people who had been there since 2:30AM and they didn't get in. We didn't see a single police officer in the five hours we stood in a crushing crowd. The only reason this didn't end in loss of life is because the crowd was so great.

6:51 am PST, Jan 24, Mike & kelly White, Pennsylvania
We had blue tickets.

7:19 pm PST, Jan 23, Susan Champion, New Jersey
I went with my 10 year old son. We waited for hours to see the gates slammed in our face with no explanation. I am lucky my son wasn't crushed. You stole not only the day but all of my good feelings about the event itself. I sat at the side of the street and cried.There was no one anywhere to help.

6:25 pm PST, Jan 23, Name not displayed, California
My concern is that security was inadequate - not getting in of course would be hugely disappointing, no doubt there. I was lucky enough to get in to Silver after 4.5 hours of waiting, and I went through security which consisted of three pats to my torso - none to my legs or buttocks or even back. I had a large purse - I can fit 2 bottles of wine in there easily - and a fannie pack which were not searched. Finally - there were no cops/security personnel anywhere to guide us, let us know what was going on - it took >3 hours to get from the Silver gate to inside - a couple of hundred feet - and we are still puzzling as to why. Summary: Silver Section - No metal detectors. No bag searches. A minimal torso inspection. And unable to process the crowds anyway. Please - please - keep President Obama safer than that.

3:53 pm PST, Jan 23, Octavian Paul Draja, Romania

2:23 pm PST, Jan 23, Peter Straus, New York
We--5 of us--had purple tickets, started out at 6:15am. We were given mis-direction from police and "red hat" inauguration helpers over and over, putting us the wrong way through the tunnel under the capitol, and back, so we walked pointlessly for over a mile until we finally got to a blocked intersection which is where we had started and should have stayed if any official had bothered to post a sign or know what was happening. There we waited for an hour until we finally made it to the coveted purple ticket holders area. We lined up with thousands of others in dangersous conditions--no law enforcement on our side of the fence, and were ignored for hours without recieving any information, as others poured through the tiny gate from other directions who were not in the only line that should have been respected as such. We luckily pushed through at 11:57am (or were pushed, in a dangerous rush, in which a small child and a very elderly woman were scared and in danger of being crushed against the fence--we managed to protect them, but it was outrageous that that happened--reminded me of the recent Walmart trampling in Long Island). Someone needs to accept responsibility for a complete lack of organizing enormous lines of people who they knew were coming for months. Dangerous and totally unacceptable.

1:55 pm PST, Jan 23, M. Horowitz, New York
we had silver tkts - not one cop, or secret service person we asked over the hours we were in line knew what was happening, could answer our questions, or could tell us where to go/what to do. we ended up informing them by repeating the rumors we were hearing from others on the silver line, or phone calls we made to others in differnt tkt holder lines. shameful whatever the problem was, (bulky clothes, generator problems at the gate causing an inability to use electronic security devices & counterfit tkts were some of excuses we heard), the catastrophic failure of the security team's communications system was inexcusable. actually w/ all the advance time they had - any failure - barring a security emergency, was inexcusable for keeping what i estimated was 10 - 12,000 silver tkt holders out of the event. diane feinstein & her committee need to give the tens of thousands of us tkt holders, (who were given tkts as a result of our investing a great deal of time & effort in getting obama elected), who couldnt use them, a clear & honest explaination for this travesty. and to all the elderly african americans i saw who also couldnt use their tkts to get in, i send apologies until the committee gives you what you deserve.

1:18 pm PST, Jan 23, Jeanne Burns, Minnesota
I wasn't planning to travel to the inauguration without a ticket, and was elated when I got the email stating that I was one of the lucky ones. I wasn't so lucky on January 20th when at 11:30 a police officer told me that the silver gate was shut. I wished I had not spent all that money to get to DC and instead wished I had stayed home.

12:52 pm PST, Jan 23, Name not displayed, Georgia

8:46 am PST, Jan 23, Toni Sokoloski, Massachusetts

6:47 am PST, Jan 23, R. Kincaid, Massachusetts
We waited in line for almost 4 hours in the BLUE ticketed area - and NEVER got in. There had to be at least 10,000+ people that didn't get in the blue area!

1:47 am PST, Jan 23, Alicia Hilligas, Maryland
This was such a disaster. No one was around to provide you guidance or tell you what was going on. I missed the most important day in history. We were never given a choice. If someone had said that we were not going to enter our ticketed area we could have just gone to general admission! I walked for miles and waited for hours. Whoever was in charge of this planned this extremely poorly. My heart remains broken that I did not get to witness this event. Shame on you Terrance Gainer, you are an incompetent liar.

12:45 am PST, Jan 23, Pam Boland, Georgia

8:40 pm PST, Jan 22, Stacy Friedland, Illinois
It was a heartbreaking debacle. I traveled from Illinois to meet my sister who came from Ohio. We had coveted Blue tickets which turned out to be worthless. What should have been one of the highlights of our lives turned into an unforgettable nightmare. We scouted out our section on Monday so we would be prepared and arrived bright and early Tuesday morning on the Metro Red line (with surprising ease). We exited the Metro and joined a line of Blue ticket holders. We proceeded to stand in that line for over 3 hours and barely moved. We did not see a single police or security officer or volunteer for that matter the entire time. People were initially excited and friendly but as the hours dragged on with no progress, frustration and anger set in. At 11:30 there was a huge "surge". Someone screamed that a person was down. Thankfully no one was trampled or crushed and we were not aware of any serious injuries. That was nothing short of a miracle. When we actually reached the entrance to the Blue Gate (not the security checkpoint which was still far away) at 11:45, it became clear that thousands of other Blue ticket holders were converging at the single entrance from all different directions. Again, there was no security or police anywhere to be found. THOUSANDS of us were standing outside the gate where we could see nothing and could barely hear the ceremony starting. It was the most poorly organized mess I have ever seen. The PIC knew how many tickets were printed. To not have a large enough gate and ample personnel to accommodate everyone, or enough metal detectors (or a back up generator readily available), or a SINGLE authority figure on the streets directing people, keeping order, and communicating with everyone was INEXCUSEABLE. We were heartbroken, disappointed, and angry. I understand that President Obama retook the oath of office Wednesday night due to Justice Roberts' blunders. It sure would have been nice if the thousands of us who had been literally left out in the cold on Tuesday had been invited!

8:27 pm PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, Kentucky
When my husband and I received a call that we had tickets to the inauguration we were elated. That zeal quickly fated once we arrived at the mall. I agree with the comments made by many of the purple ticket holders. The signage was very poor and the security was nonexistent. As a silver ticket holder, I stood in line for about 2hrs and a group of people found an opening in the crowd that enabled us to reach the silver section. Once we got to the silver section, we looked backed to see police officer holding back the silver ticket holders. Why, I do not know. I know there were 1,000's of people in that line. Once we got to the silver section all we could see was the Capital bldg but we were too far back to see the actual ceremony and there were no Jumbotron visible. It is also sorta hard to see through people standing on the shoulders of other people. I do not regret being there because it was truly a lifetime occasion, but I do think a formal apology should be made to all of the people who did not get to witness the event. I KNOW WE CAN do a better job.

7:40 pm PST, Jan 22, Jeremy Rider, Maryland
Terrance Gainer, you should be ashamed! You and the other planners were completely inept and now your only action seems to be to deny and try to cover your butt. I applaud Sen. Feinstein for apologizing and seeming to be serious about getting to the bottom of things. You should learn something from her about what it means to take responsibility.

7:03 pm PST, Jan 22, Dianne Smith, Texas
The issue is Safety, Safety, Safety. The poor planning and lack of a intelligent command central led to many of us being held in a cattle pen. NO planning, NO signage, NO direction, NO police, NO intelligent life in uniform. Following random directions due to lack of communications and training is unacceptable. My son and I made it to the Capitol grounds with five minutes to spare. AWESOME DAY and being in the crowds with so many great people was an experience I will never forget. Luckily there was no major emergency, whether natural or manmade, as we all would have been screwed. There was no where for us to go and definitely no one in a police uniform who knew what to tell us. They left a very poor impression of D.C. to all visitors from across the USA and the world who were there with a much sort after Ticket. Ticket. Jesse Jackson squeezed through the crowd at Avenue D and 1st Street. I shook his hand and asked him why was he going the wrong way -- he smiled and said just this time. Jesse and his entourge obviously knew something the rest of the crowd did not -- fooled me.

6:41 pm PST, Jan 22, Robert Gelinas, Virginia

6:33 pm PST, Jan 22, Rebecca Gelinas, Virginia
My husband and I had purple tickets. Although we eventually got in at the last minute, I sympathize with all those who did not get in. I second everything that has been reported: NO planning, NO signage, NO direction, NO police, NO staff. It was unsafe at times. The added insults of lies by the police and planning committee are completely unacceptable. Someone should be held accountable for this fiasco.

6:24 pm PST, Jan 22, Jeryl Green, Pennsylvania

5:53 pm PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, Utah
From what the media is telling us those of you in the tunnel were just as happy as can be. There wasnt one problem at all during this so-called momentous event. Just put this on the top of your list of disappointments during the Obama administration. You've got a long way to go!

5:35 pm PST, Jan 22, Lynda DeCesare, Delaware
I was in the purple tunnel of doom, and, like everyone else, I got there predawn after weeks of planning and excited anticipation. It's a testament to the decency of the Obama supporters that the horrible situation that developed did not result in people getting hurt, because we were all heartbroken, frustrated, and furious.

5:25 pm PST, Jan 22, Jessica Larson, Esq, Pennsylvania
I am very disappointed in the Capital Police and Sergeant-at-Arms. Please don't insult us further with your denials and lies.

1:33 pm PST, Jan 22, Cindy Reid, California

1:17 pm PST, Jan 22, Jeff Williams, Wisconsin
This was not a case of poor planning it must have been a case of NO planning. No plan could have been close to being this bad.

1:00 pm PST, Jan 22, Mary Coe, California
We had 2 purple tickets. I flew in from California, and my son from college in Minnesota. We took the earliest train from Baltimore, and were in line by just after 6am. We were directed into the tunnel, where we spent the next 5 hours. The police that had tod us to enter the tunnel even deserted us, and in 5 hours not even one offical entered the tunnel, where there were thousand and thousand of people. Only the genuine goodwill of the people made this not turn into an epic disaster. When we got out of the tunnel, we tunneled into a space that was way too small to accommodate that many people, and it was a mob scene. I was terrified and in tears. We spent close to $2000 for only one real day in DC, but thought it was worth it to see the inauguration i person. I cannot even bring myself to watch it on tv. It is just too painful.

12:38 pm PST, Jan 22, Frances Everett, Virginia
I was in the blue ticket area and this was a tragedy as real as those affected by katrina. We were in a position of waiting for the organizers to provide what they promised when we were issued a ticket and all we received was humiliation and the opportunity to stand in a crushing crowd for 5 hours. We can do better, yes we can.

12:36 pm PST, Jan 22, Michelle Washington, Washington D.C.
The heroes of the day were the members of the public who kept it together emotionally and behaviorally in the face of a horrible situation. I am a DC native, know the city well, and yet was mortified by the lack of signage to direct the pubic to gates and open entry points. I spent an hour near the yellow gate (I had a yellow ticket) while I was waiting for friends, helping direct a lot of confused people how to walk around to the south side of the Mall to get to open areas. And I only knew how to do that because I spent hours in the preceding days studying the published locations of security barriers and Metro closings as published in the Washington Post, as the PIC Web site omitted to explain the VITAL fact that people wanting to access unticketed sections of the Mall NEEDED TO APPROACH BY THE SOUTH due to parade route and ticketed area gates. IN ADDITION TO NO SIGNS, THERE WERE NO STAFFERS OR OFFICIALS OF ANY KIND TO HELP PEOPLE. I actually wished I had a bullhorn to help more people. In fact, I wish I had planned that aspect of the day and believe I could have done a better job (many people could have). Nothing less than full reimbursement of all travel expenses will communicate sincere regret on the part of organizers to those affected, yet won't address the profound disappointment or the significant physical suffering in the cold and crush. (I was blessed to enter without a hitch, so the suggestion is not self-serving.) I am embarrassed for the PIC.

12:13 pm PST, Jan 22, Jill Moulson, North Carolina
My sister and I stood in the tunnel for over 5 hours. We go there at 5:45 in the morning and eventually came out of the tunnel at 11:15 to learn that there was no line- the line that we thought was there was just emptying out into the street. There was no line, no police, no one taking tickets-NOTHING! I couldn't believe what just happened. It was not only heartbreaking for me and my sister but thousands of people. There was a little boy who had won a ticket from a contest where he had submitted a poem, there was a father who had held his 18 mos. old little boy for 5 hours with us, elderly, so many people that deserved better than this. It was one of the most disappointing days in my life and so many others. Not to mention that the people in this tunnel happened to be very strong supporters of Barack Obama some of which had campaigned for him, donated money, endless hours, etc., and truly deserve more than "this was a mistake or a security issue."

11:44 am PST, Jan 22, Margaret Joyce, Delaware
i descended into the tunnel around 6am and for the next four hours watched a continuous and steady stream of people pour into the tunnel to get their place in line.....

11:10 am PST, Jan 22, Michael Iritz, California
Mr. Gainer's comments are demeaning and degrading. They add insult to injury by saying that the thousands of us with tickets were merely "discombobulated"!!! The fact that 236,000 were "very happy with the service" minimizes the pain, sorrow and depression that many of us are still dealing with in missing out on this once-in-a-lifetime, historical event. I spent $1500, flew across the country and was in line beginning at 5am; the response thus far is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! From Senator Feinstein to Mr. Gainer to other "leaders" responsible for this fiasco need to take responsibility - WITHOUT caveats, explanations or excuses. We need to return to the days when leaders took seriously the notion that "The Buck stops Here!" Own up to your lack of organization, poor contingency planning and the pain you've caused for so many thousands of people!!!

10:53 am PST, Jan 22, Andrea Harrell, Washington D.C.
In response to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies request for information regarding the morning of the Inauguration, I would like to provide a first hand account of what happened that morning. I am a purple ticket holder provided to me by Congressman Chris Lee. On Tuesday, 1/20/09 at approximately 5:40 am I arrived at the Purple gate. A line had already formed and extended past 1st and C streets NW and eventually into the 3rd Street tunnel. Upon entry, there was a police presence, with concrete barricades, allowing purple ticket holders into the tunnel. I can only estimate, but we were perhaps 50 to 60 yards into the tunnel. While in the tunnel military, police and other emergency vehicles consistently entered the tunnel and had to snake their way through the line, which of course grew considerably as time passed. Although the people were considerate of others and there were no conflicts in my immediate area, there was no formal crowd control or consistent police presence in what could have been a very hazardous situation. The line continued to inch forward, but by 10:30 am we were still about 20 yards into the tunnel, so we exited the line out of concern for our safety and to find an official who could provide information as to the status of getting onto the ticketed area. On 1st and D Streets NW, there was a throng of hundreds that began aggressively pushing their way toward 1st and C Streets NW in an attempt to make their way onto the Capitol grounds. On 1st and C Streets NW, there was one DC Police Officer (Ryan) who was cordial but was inundated with questions from others about the status of the opening of the purple gate. No information was confirmed other than informing us and others that the gate was not open at that time. Due to the growing frustration of the crowd and the lack of security we decided leave the area and watch the ceremony from my home in NE DC. My parents are in their 60's and 70's, they drove from Rochester, NY and contributed to President Obama's campaign and sincerely wanted to witness this event in person. We don't see this as a reflection of the President's administration, but are truly disappointed in the coordination or lack thereof in the disbursement of tickets. I'm sure that our story is similar to hundreds of others, but we appreciate you taking the time to investigate this matter.

10:19 am PST, Jan 22, Marcy Fleisher, Ohio
It is with a heavy heart, tremendous disappointment and a fair amount of anger that I write this. I was one of the tens of thousands that held a blue ticket to Tuesday’s inauguration and never made it in. Never even made it close despite the fact that we stood in line for 3+ hours. Furthermore, I was no where near the tunnel that today's PIC statement of apology refers to. And I can assure you there were far more than 3 or 4 thousand people around me that didn’t get in either; the vast majority with the appropriate ticket. The blue access gate was a total debacle. There was absolutely ZERO supervision maintaining any flow or order. It is a miracle that no one was crushed in the surge we experienced and that tempers and frustrations didn't flair. If a generator went down as we heard at one point how could there be no back up generator readily available? In cold weather this should have been planned for. And when the blue lines became impossibly bottle necked due to too many access points and NO manpower to supervise, how come no one thought to re-route us to more open access points, like the orange check points which we could see moving smoothly? In addition, your statement says some ticket holders didn’t get in because sections reached capacity. We had friends in the blue section that did make it through. They reported plenty of available space. In addition, when we watched the ceremony hours later on tape we could see visible stretches of green where we were supposed to be standing. At the very least why weren't TV monitors moved near the lines when it became apparent that thousands of ticket holders would miss the ceremony altogether?! I personally traveled from Ohio for this inauguration. I closed my business and hired babysitters to watch my children. So did those with me. My tickets were obtained after I housed the Ohio Field Director for nearly 6 months and worked tirelessly for the Obama campaign in Ohio. I was invited by the PIC to attend the swearing in. Today I feel as if that moment I worked so hard to help achieve was robbed from me forever. Of course I realize there are no do-over’s. I do however believe the PIC can do more than apologize. The internet is alive tonight with many sound suggestions. Perhaps there can be a reception at the White House for those of us who suffered because of the PIC’s mistakes? Or at the very least start collecting names and make sure we are the first to receive SEATS four years from now. That is assuming any of us would have the heart, courage or will to come back.

9:04 am PST, Jan 22, Patricia Ricioppo, New York
Left home at midnight, drove all night long; stood in line in freezing cold (no food, no bathroom) from 7:15. No excuses for the abominable performance by our nation's capitol's finest. Is this an example of how our administration is starting out? So much for the purple ticket.

8:44 am PST, Jan 22, Paul Gaudreau, Massachusetts
I had Tickets for the Silver section. As soon as we got out of Union Station we saw signs pointing to the silver and purple section, go right. then we never saw another silver sign again. where were the silver signs? we were stuck in the purple mess for 2.5 hours. finally getting out we walked around the capital to the other side and found the other silver gate, but by then it was 10:30 and the line was about .5 mile long. We gave up and found a place to watch the ceremony on TV. I paid $1000 to travel to DC so I could watch the inauguration on TV.

8:10 am PST, Jan 22, Jay Eshleman, Massachusetts
We were silver ticket holders who got caught in the "Purple Intersection Fiasco". For the most part the crowds remained lively and in the spirit, but at times, tensions flared and it seemed the fear would spill over. Luckily, we were part of a group that managed to "Split the crowd" and make our way out as we attempted to make the silver line from the other side of the capital.

7:19 am PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, Maryland
We bought train tickets to travel to DC with our four teenage children to witness history. Arriving at Union Station, we got into the purple gate crowd as soon as we arrived. While a lot of focus has been paid to ticket holders that didn't get in, please don't discount the disappointment of the thousands and thousands of other people that were virtually stuck in this area with no direction and no way to even get close to the mall or parade route checkpoints. It was chaotic and sad, especially for the older people that had traveled from so far away to be part of history. Jumbotrons on the back side would have helped immensely. Later at Union Station, people gathered to get out of the cold and were turned out so the station could prepare for inaugural balls. This is only acceptable if there were alternate sites for people to get out of the cold. Poor planning considering the crowds were even smaller than predicted. And it was a slap in the face for someone to say that only 5000 people were unhappy. Whoever was in charge is obviously unaware or lying about what went on. As for "no arrests"...we saw one in Union Station and the heavy handed cops actually dumped an old man out of his folding chair to get by with the suspect in handcuffs.

6:41 am PST, Jan 22, Paula DeCarlo, Virginia
My niece in North Georgia received three purple tickets. She and her sister traveled from Atlanta to my house in Virginia. The three of us were thrilled to be able to attend the inauguration. We left home at 5, got to Metro at 5:30, crawled to DC, arriving at around 6:45, made our way to the purple line, arrived at the top of the tunnel at around 7:00, and exited the tunnel at around 10:45. The Federal government needs to say a pray of thanks that we were all orderly and in high spirits. People could have been seriously injured or worse in that tunnel. It was cold, there were no bathrooms, absolutely no crowd control. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people in the tunnel. It was pretty much like lambs to the slaughter.

6:17 am PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, New York

6:12 am PST, Jan 22, Steve Dale, Australia

5:59 am PST, Jan 22, Name not displayed, Virginia
How exciting to have bleacher seats for the parade for such a historic event? How frustrating to SEE your seats, but not be able to reach them? A security line that didn't move at 12th and Penn (even hours before anything was to "close"), no speakers to hear the President take the oath, no screens to even get a glimpse. I watched the President's speech from a bar in Arlington. Where were you on the day history was made?