<<Dear victor: Well, regarding protesters on inauguration day I understand from the Fox news channel the total was about 550.>>
Well, legitimate news organizations had the number closer to 20,000.
This from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
"Protesters showed up in greater numbers than for any inauguration since Richard Nixon's second, in 1973, when an estimated 60,000 demonstrators took to the streets during the height of the Vietnam War. But the estimated 20,000 protesters in the streets Saturday were far outnumbered by Bush supporters. The protesters were countered by 7,000 local and federal police, who reported few arrests and no serious confrontations."
And here are parts of an ABC news story:
"Protests Disrupt Inauguration
By ABCNEWS.com
At the moment Bush was sworn in, police scuffled with protesters on the streets of Washington. Demonstrators turned out across Washington today, chanting and carrying signs displaying their anger at the contested election of President Bush.
As the inaugural parade moved down Pennsylvania Avenue, thousands of protesters mingled with supporters of Bush, waving signs that read, among other things, "Hail to the Thief," "His Fraudulency," "Fraud!," and "Gore Majority."
At times and places along the parade route, chants of the anti-Bush forces were louder than the cheers of Bush's supporters, although most spectators were there to cheer on the new president.
...
Earlier, just at the moment Bush was taking his oath of office, police were clashing with protesters at an intersection just a few blocks from the parade route in downtown Washington. With a helicopter hovering overhead, the Secret Service and busloads of police, some in riot gear, blocked off the intersection, though the vast majority of the protesters were congregating peacefully.
Law enforcement officials said the protesters were being surrounded and moved because they did not have a permit
to gather on the street. The demonstrators began to disperse at around the time Bush finished delivering his inaugural address. So far police have made a total of nine arrests for disorderly conduct.
..."
Do you think 550 is a reasonable estimate?
Steve Dietrich |
