Not only did anti-Trump professional protesters disrupt and block inaugural attendees, but security checkpoints also kept untold numbers of Trump supporters from getting through to the National Mall to witness the president take the oath of office.   Media headlines like the AP's "Trump draws far smaller inaugural crowd than Obama" may seem plausible if you took pictures only of the Mall itself.  But out in the streets, the crowds told another story. According to the Washington Post, 900,000 people were expected, and a security force of 28,000 was prepared to watch over "100 square blocks of prime downtown real estate."  But reports after the event are now saying "thin crowds" and only "hundreds of thousands" attended. What the true numbers were, we'll never know, because so many people were inordinately delayed at security checkpoints overseen by the TSA.  At our checkpoint for general admission to the mall...(Read Full Post)