'Purple Tunnel of Doom' Report Released

On the heels of the "Purple Tunnel of Doom" fiasco, which ensnared our own Dylan and Ethan Ris, along with other issues with the inauguration, Senator Dianne Feinstein called for an investigation. The results of that investigation have now been released. From CQ Politics:

The report, conducted by a Secret Service-led, multi-agency law enforcement team, makes dozens of recommendations for improving crowd control and access to inaugural ceremonies in 2013 and beyond. The report does point out that "there was not one major security incident, arrest or injury" reported at the event, which drew an unprecedented 1.8 million people to the nation's capital.

A nine-page executive summary released Monday details how crowd management difficulties, unanticipated demands on security screeners, a lack of signs indicating that the Third Street tunnel was reserved for emergency vehicles and inadequate coordination among various law enforcement agencies all contributed to problems at the event.

They could have gotten most of this info for free from The Political Machine. The Political Machine covered that story from 3 different angles in stories by The Ris Brothers, Caleb, and myself. The only problem with this summation is the idea that this was "unanticipated." Initial estimates for the expected crowd were around 4 million:

"We have seen nothing" to suggest that many people will come to DC, said Secret Service Special Agent Malcolm Wiley. He said that authorities have looked at schedules for busses and planes and hotel rooms and haven't seen travel plans for that many people. But, he said, "we have a responsibility to plan for that. We will be prepared."

The lion's share of the problems were caused by the utter unpreparedness and apathy of the City of Washington, DC. Once inside the gates, I had no problems. There were plenty of security screeners, lots of bathrooms, the crowd was fine. But the zone around the inauguration was a chaotic mess, and nobody knew anything.

I hope those shut out at least enjoy their consolation tchotchkes, because this report is a bunch of BS.

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