The Save America March – What I Witnessed

PHOTO: According to Tim Carter of Meredith, these two young patriots were a perfect example of the mood of the entire crowd that he encountered at the Save America March in D.C. last week. “Everyone was happy, excited, and full of patriotism. No one I saw was angry or grinding an axe,” said Carter. TIM CARTER PHOTO

by Tim Carter
Syndicated Columnist

“No way. I didn’t see ANYONE wearing a helmet!” I was sitting safely in my hotel room miles from the US Capitol building talking back to the TV as I watched live local news coverage of the aftermath of the mayhem that had erupted just five hours before in Washington DC. The media sharks were frothing at the blood in the water blaming Trump supporters for breaching the Capitol building after the Save America March.

Conflicting thoughts were swirling in my head watching raw video footage of young men attacking the Capitol police and trying to break windows at the Capitol. I thought, “Those are NOT Trump supporters. Everyone I saw and talked to down at the Ellipse was happy, the mood was festive, and people were obeying the law. Something else is going on.”

MY RENDEZVOUS

As Ronald Reagan said in his historic A Time For Choosing speech, my rendezvous with destiny in DC started many months before. I’m a member of the working press and have come to loathe many of my peers who are sharing half-truths with you about current events and countless other topics. A half-truth is a whole lie.

I decided, along with tens of thousands of other citizen journalists armed with our own video cameras, that I was going to witness the truth with my own eyes and record it for history’s sake. I, like you, have a lot to lose and when my granddaughter asks in the future sitting on my knee what I did on this historic day, I don’t want to tell her I was shoveling snow in New Hampshire.

I drove from my home in Meredith the day before the rally completing the 8.5-hour drive just before dusk. The next morning I drove from my hotel near the BWI International Airport to the northeast end of the red line Metro subway. From there it’s a fast 25-minute ride into Union Station just north of the Capitol building. The promised sunny weather was nowhere to be found. A thick layer of lead-gray clouds, 34 F, and an icy wind was the weather for the day.

WHAT I SAW

Once I reached ground level, I proceeded south to the Capitol Building. For me, it’s a talisman. My heart swells with patriotism and awe each time I’m next to this majestic structure. I was stunned to see the entire building was surrounded with crowd-control fencing. Grim police officers spaced 100 feet apart stood guard. Never before in all my previous visits had I seen this and it troubled me.

Patriots carrying flags of all types and wearing Trump apparel were everywhere. We were all drawn by the magnetism of the swelling crowd forming 1.5 miles away at the Ellipse. I walked at a leisurely pace with the growing crowd down the National Mall. Long before arriving at the Ellipse I could hear the crowd cheering and music playing.

I stood at the west end of the National Mall just above 15th St NW for a few moments munching on the delicious eye candy. Thousands were surrounding the base of the Washington Monument. The circle of US flags guarding the giant obelisk were flapping in the wind. They were complimented by countless other US and Trump flags. It was surreal and reminded me of battle scenes in the US Civil War were advancing troops always carried flags and banners.

It was time to dive into the vibrating crowd in the Ellipse. It was overflowing with freedom and liberty-loving patriots. I wanted to be able to say I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with those who made the pilgrimage to the altar of freedom. So many people were there, the grass was trampled into an oozing muddy mess.

It was so crowded, I felt like I was inside a stuffed sausage casing. Families with young children, people of all ages, men and women of many ethnicities were talking, laughing, and having a great time. It was a giant party. I decided to get as close as I could to where President Trump would speak, but the mass of humanity would not yield. I only made it to within 150 feet.

WHAT I DIDN’T SEE

Looking back I think what I didn’t see is just as important as what I saw. I didn’t see one port-a-let open to the public. I did see some sequestered from us behind fencing at the Ellipse. I thought this was very strange as eleven years ago at the Taxpayer Rally in DC I saw hundreds of them. Each Fourth of July and for the Right-to-Life March there are thousands of portable toilets scattered over the National Mall and Capitol grounds. Why didn’t the mayor of DC allow them this time?

I didn’t see many open public buildings. I didn’t see anger, desperation, empty spray-paint cans, young adults wearing helmets, not a piece of litter anywhere but in cans, nor toppled historic statues on the ground. I didn’t see overturned flaming police cars, nor burning buildings. I DIDN’T witness a crowd that would MUTATE INTO ANARCHISTS.

BEAT THE CROWD

Just before President Trump started his speech, I went back up to the edge of the Mall to listen. Unfortunately, a young man exercising his First Amendment rights had set up a loudspeaker and was preaching to all about the wages of sin. His diatribe drowned out the President’s words.

Twenty minutes or so before the President stopped speaking, I started to walk back to Union Station to use the restroom. Little did I know that I was the tip of the spear advancing towards the Capitol Building. By the time I walked out of the restroom, I was too tired to go to the Capitol one last time. You know what happened next.

Reagan closed his famous speech wondering if “we’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.” Only time will tell, but it ain’t talkin’, as Kenny Chesney sings in his famous song.

To see all the photos and videos Tim Carter recorded while in DC, please point your browser to: GO.timcarter.com/dcrally