Inauguration Day in pictures: Outside the inner circle
Tight security, patient Trump supporters, marching Proud Boys
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Photographs by Benjamin J. Hulac
WASHINGTON — Most of my workdays, I roam around the Capitol and congressional office buildings, interviewing members of Congress who represent New Jersey, talking with sources, and reporting and writing stories.
Monday was not like most days. The man of the hour, of course, was now-President Donald Trump, sworn in for the second time in eight years to the nation’s highest office, and I was credentialed press for the inauguration.
But after the ceremony was moved inside, only a handful of reporters were allowed into the Capitol Rotunda, and I would have to find my story elsewhere.
So I grabbed my camera and tried to capture the swirling actions in this city away from the pomp and circumstance: the thousands of Trump supporters on a sunny but crisp day, the people hawking carts of Trump gear; the columns of idling black government vehicles; the heightened security in a town where the presence of the federal government can feel overpowering to locals.
After Trump moved the inauguration inside due to the cold weather, throngs of his backers, many of whom had traveled across the country for the festivities and expected to see him inaugurated on the National Mall, instead waited hours in line outside Capital One Arena, where a makeshift rally-like event was held Monday evening.
Waiting on line for entry to a rally at Capital One Arena
The city has been on edge for a while. For weeks, two rings of black metal fences, taller than humans or vehicles, have encircled Capitol Hill, erected before the 119th Congress was sworn in, before certification of the 2024 election results on Jan. 6, and before the peaceful transfer of power that happened Monday.
During the inaugural events, key subway stops — including the one at the Pentagon — were closed entirely.
Some of the images from this Monday stand out: members of the extremist Proud Boys group chanting and marching through town; military personnel dotting the city; and the now-famous picture of Trump after he survived an assassination attempt on July 13 last year in Pennsylvania, hanging on a large banner from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s headquarters.
On Inauguration Day in 2017, I walked into work, down Pennsylvania Avenue to my newsroom at the time, near the reflecting pool by the Capitol amid protesters and others against the new president.
In 2025 and with that man returning to office, there was far less tumult on Monday. While similar opposition may emerge this year, it has yet to materialize, at least on the streets of Washington.
Cover image: Looking south across the National Mall; after the inauguration was moved inside, the mall, where inaugurations generally take place, was sealed off to the public.
Benjamin J. Hulac covers New Jersey’s congressional delegation and federal decisions that affect the state. Before joining NJ Spotlight News, he wrote for CQ Roll Call and Climatewire, covering Congress and federal agencies as well as environmental, energy and transportation policies and programs.
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