US

I Traveled To See George H.W. Bush Honored At The US Capitol — I Was Stunned By The Crowds

[BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images]

Benny Johnson Columnist, Viral Politics
Font Size:

WASHINGTON — It was bitterly cold and dark on Capitol Hill as I walked the brick sidewalks leading to the U.S. Capitol. I was heading to pay my respects to President George H.W. Bush, who was lying in state. I have covered major funerals in Washington and seen my fair share of grandiose state events. However, nothing prepared me for what I saw as I approached the Capitol that night.

The process for a president to lie in state is standardized. There is an official arrival ceremony, followed by remarks from gathered political leaders. Family, friends and members of the administration look on as the dearly departed lies in a flag-draped coffin upon the Lincoln Catafalque — the same funeral board upon which Abraham Lincoln’s body rest after his assassination.

The Capitol rotunda is a stunning location to honor the passing of an American. The murals are patriotic and ornate. The domed ceiling stretches to the sky. The marble halls echo with a reverence for the history of our nation. (RELATED: Here’s A Look Back At George H.W. Bush’s Life In Pictures) 

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Zach Gibson/Getty Images

There are statues of great men and women who came before us lining the rotunda. Past authors of the American experiment look on as yet another American joins their ranks.

The ceremony for Bush was short and sweet: some charming remarks from congressional leaders, military motions, a song and prayer. Fittingly, a large, bronze, smiling statue of Ronald Reagan watched the casket of his vice president. After the Bush family had walked past the casket and out of the rotunda, the great hall was opened to mourners who wished to come and pay final respects to their president.

Processing to get in for such an event is grueling for both mourner and those charged with guarding the departed president.

The streets around the Capitol were closed and barricades were set up to make an orderly line. The line to get into the Capitol began blocks away from the actual rotunda and security was tight. All who entered went through TSA-like bag and body screening. The entire trip was over a mile long, according to my GPS tracker.

I was traveling Monday outside of DC and couldn’t cover the original ceremony. Tuesday evening, upon my return, I walked from my home to the Capitol to pay my respects. I’ve done this walk many times. The weather was cold, in the 30s. It was close to midnight when I arrived. The image that met me upon my arrival stunned me.

In spite of the cold, dark, late hour, thousands of people were gathered outside the Capitol. The line of mourners stretched the length of the Capitol and back seven times. I counted. One Capitol Police Officers estimated 5,000 people were in line. I attempted to film the magnitude of the mass of mourners. Walking the length of the line took 20 minutes. The mourners had far more than 20 minutes ahead of them. Many waited in line for more than four hours to honor Bush.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Four hours. In the bitter cold.

Lucky for me, a press badge got me into the rotunda quickly. Upon entering the rotunda, the chill lifted. The mood was solemn and reverent. Many cried. Veterans saluted. The iconic honor guard of each branch of the armed forces guarded the flag-draped coffin. It made one stand a little straighter and think a little deeper.

I took my photos from the press stands and observed an hour as a flow of mourners entered the hall. After midnight I left the Capitol.

The scene as I left was once again stunning. The end of the line had grown. Mourners who had hours of waiting in the cold ahead of them were cheery.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images

I got some rest and returned early, 6 a.m. Wednesday. The thousands of mourners were gone. A Capitol Police officer told me, “They all got in. Every last one of them. I’m on my third shift.”

I asked him if this is what he signed up for, standing in the cold conducting crowd control for hours on end into the wee hours of the morning.

“You’re damn right,” he said proudly.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel