From Mid-Insurrection Selfies to Inauguration Lockdown

“My soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation,” President Joe Biden said shortly after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20. “I ask every American to join me in this cause.” In the speech, Biden referred to an “uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural vs. urban, conservative vs. liberal.”

But the weeks leading up to the inauguration show this assessment may understate the divide that confronts the new administration. On Jan. 5, thousands of Trump supporters—including Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, QAnon adherents, coronavirus truthers, and what seemed like dozens of other fringe groups—began arriving in Washington. I spent a few days among them and watched the following day as they fought their way onto the inaugural platform from which Biden would speak.