The riot at the Capitol forced many people to cancel plans to travel to Washington, D.C., for Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration — though not everyone’s.
To attend the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime, but after the vicious attack at the U.S. Capitol last week, the decision to travel to Washington, D.C., isn’t so easy anymore.
“It’s really heartbreaking that this is where we are as American people,” said Carlos Cardona, the Chair of the Laconia Democratic Party in New Hampshire. “I definitely know firsthand what white supremacists look like and what they can do. I live in, let’s face it, one of the reddest counties in the whole state.”
Cardona says he was planning to go to the inauguration with his partner, but with the current threat of another uprising, they decided as parents, they cannot risk their safety.
“To me, this is going to be a moment that I am going to regret missing,” Cardona said. “I believe that better days are ahead, as Obama would say, we just have to get through these crazy times and this is what it’s going to take - staying at home.”
Former State Rep. Charlie St. Clair says he's taking a different approach.
“I’m not going to be around forever, no one is, and these moments don’t come every day,” St. Clair said.
He was so confident that Joe Biden would win, that he bought tickets to the inauguration before the election.
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“I’ve heard from a lot of people, some say I should go for it, others say, ‘you’re crazy,’” St. Clair explained.
He says he has complete faith in our troops and that in the wake of unprecedented violence, he’s even more eager to witness a peaceful transfer of power and a moment, he says, our country so desperately needs.
St. Clair says the only way he won’t go, is if the Mayor of DC orders people to stay away or locks down the city. As of right now, he’s planning to take the train down on Tuesday.
