Chuck Holton
Politics • Culture • News
Where Did All the Protesters Go?
Reflecting on the 2025 Inauguration
January 20, 2025
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I’ll admit it—I was wrong. Heading into the 2025 presidential inauguration, I fully expected a repeat of the chaos I witnessed in 2017. Back then, during Trump’s first swearing-in, the streets of Washington, D.C., were a battleground. Thousands of protesters clashed with police, smashed windows, torched cars, and left a trail of destruction that resulted in hundreds of arrests. It was a spectacle of outrage and unrest.

Watch Chuck Get Attacked By Hammer-Wielding Antifa in 2017

But this year? Almost nothing.

Sure, there were a handful of protesters—mostly of the fringe variety, like Westboro Baptist Church-types. But the scene was eerily calm. What’s more, it didn’t seem like it had to be. Despite the presence of 27,000 police and National Guard troops, 30 miles of fencing, and a fleet of trucks blocking roads, the anticipated storm never came. Why?

1. It Was Freezing

First off, it was 20 degrees. Let’s face it, bitter cold puts a damper on almost any outdoor event, even protests. But cold alone doesn’t explain the dramatic difference between this inauguration and 2017. After all, people braved the weather to raise havoc eight years ago.

2. Follow the Money?

The Guardian offers another intriguing possibility. In 2017, protests were organized and funded by a coalition of activist groups galvanized by Trump’s election. The anger was fresh, and the resources were abundant. This time around, those same groups may not have the same motivation—or the money—to pull off a repeat performance.

Political movements, especially large-scale protests, don’t materialize out of thin air. They require organization, funding, and a spark of collective outrage. It’s possible that the organizations that helped fuel the 2017 protests have dissolved or shifted focus. Or maybe the polarization that defined the Trump era has softened, leaving fewer people feeling angry enough to take to the streets.

3. Guardrails That Worked

Another factor might be the sheer scale of security. With tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and miles of barriers, even the most committed agitators may have been discouraged. The overwhelming show of force sent a clear message: not this time.

4. A Changing Political Climate

Finally, the broader political climate might have shifted. While America is still divided, the outrage that defined much of Trump’s presidency has evolved. People may be fatigued by years of constant political conflict, or they’ve found other outlets for their grievances.

A Quiet Surprise

In the end, I was prepared for mass unrest, and I got an orderly transition of power instead. It’s a pleasant surprise, but it leaves plenty of questions. Was it the cold? The security? A lack of funding and organization? Or is America, in its own way, starting to move past the need for protests that escalate into chaos?

Only time will tell whether this peace will hold (I'd like to be optimistic), but one thing is certain—this inauguration was a reminder that predictions, like protests, don’t always materialize the way you expect.

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5 Years Later: Why the 2020 War Still Haunts My Heart

Today marks five years since the guns fell silent after 44 brutal days of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. As I sit down to reflect, this anniversary feels more than a date—it stirs memories, scars, and hope. This war wasn’t just another conflict I covered. It touched me personally. I returned to this land with my son Nathan, and here, in Armenia, he met the woman who would become his wife, Rubina. That made the struggle of this small nation deeply personal for my family as well.

 

A Reporter’s Lens: War in the Caucasus

When Azerbaijan launched its offensive on September 27, 2020, the world watched with confusion. This was not a simple border clash. The fighting engulfed Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), pushing Armenian civilians into shelters, raining down bombs on Stepanakert, and scarring historic sites like the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, struck twice in early October.

I traveled there as a war correspondent. I watched children run from collapsing buildings, spoke with mothers clutching their infants in darkness, and heard stories of horrific violence—neighbors beheaded in Hadrut, homes razed, communities erased.

I made it clear then—and I still say it: Azerbaijan’s assault on civilian targets was cowardly. Journalists in marked cars were struck by drones despite no military presence nearby. That’s not war. That’s terrorism.

When Shushi was lost in early November, the strategic heart of the region, hope began to dim. The ceasefire that followed on November 9 solidified a painful reality: Karabakh, once held by Armenians for decades, was now under Baku’s control.

 

Why It Became Personal

I’ve covered wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria. But Armenia is more than a foreign assignment for me. Over time, it became home in my heart.

  • My Son, My Return: I came back to Armenia with Nathan, my boy, to show him a land of resilience, ancient stone churches, and people with stories deeper than any war.

  • Nathan and Rubina: Here, my son met Rubina, the woman who would become his wife. Armenia became part of my family’s story, woven into our future as well as its past.

  • Witnessing Loss in Real Time: I was on the ground, breathing the dust, smelling the smoke, hearing the shells. I saw what this conflict meant to families whose roots here grew centuries deep.

 

What the Reporting Unearthed

From day one, I heard consistent claims: hospitals, apartment buildings, schools, places of worship were systematically targeted. Ghazanchetsots Cathedral’s shelling was more than collateral damage—it was a symbol. Countless reports confirmed use of munitions with wide-area effects, including cluster bombs, in civilian zones.

One local woman in Hadrut region told me her neighbor was beheaded—his body left on the road as a warning. These stories haunted me. The silence afterward felt complicit.

Even clearly marked press vehicles were struck. Drones tracked us. Some of our team fled shelling zones under fire. We had no illusions. This was part of the message: don’t record, don’t tell, or you, too, will be erased.

The Strategic & Geopolitical Layers

  • Turkey’s Role: Armenia and some observers accused Turkey of sending Syrian mercenaries to support Azerbaijan.

  • Energy & Grid Power: Seizing energy and infrastructure routes was central to the timing of the invasion.

  • Asymmetric Warfare: Drones, electronic warfare, artillery barrages—this was not 20th-century trench war. It was modern brutality.

 

Five Years After: What Has Changed, What Hasn’t

What Changed

  • Territory Lost: Much of Karabakh under Armenian control is now under Baku.

  • Diaspora Wounds: Thousands displaced, heritage sites under threat, memories in danger of being buried.

  • Global Awareness: The world now knows Karabakh is not just a footnote—Armenia’s struggle is visible to those with ears to listen.

What Hasn’t

  • Accountability: There has been zero justice for many war crimes.

  • Repair of Heritage: Churches, monasteries, cemeteries destroyed or vandalized remain inaccessible.

  • True Peace: What pass as “armistice” terms still hold tension, uncertainty, and fear.

My Prayer, My Call

On this 5th anniversary, here’s what I believe:

  • Never forget. Tell the stories. Share the images. Honor the displaced.

  • Stand for justice, not only peace. You cannot build peace on silence.

  • Support Armenian voices—local journalists, families, survivors. They carry truth where conflict lingers.

  • Believe love persists. Amid bombing and rubble, my family found a new connection to this land. Armenia is no longer just a place I covered—it’s part of my family’s heritage through Rubina and Nathan. That bond, in its small everyday form, resists erasure.

If you’ve followed me on this path, you know I don’t believe in hopeless causes. I believe in people resilient enough to rebuild. Five years later, Armenia still stands—not merely because it must, but because it chooses to carry memory forward.

May this anniversary awaken hearts, sharpen dialogue, and demand the world look—not away.

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All Hands to Quantico: Why 800 U.S. Generals Were Summoned—and What It Could Mean

The Extraordinary Roll-Call

The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, just ordered every U.S. general officer—we’re talking admirals and generals across the services, more than 800 flag officers—to report to Quantico, Virginia next week. The meeting isn’t secret; the agenda is. That alone is historic. Add the entourages, staffers, security, and aircrews and you’re looking at several thousand people converging on one secure base.

Let’s be clear: everything beyond the fact of the meeting is speculation until we hear otherwise. But the scale and timing are hard to ignore.

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  2. Top-Heavy Cleanup. The force has become too bureaucratic and bloated at the top. Streamlining combatant commands and trimming hundreds of billets wouldn’t shock me.

  3. Operational Security Briefing. If leadership worries about hacks and leaks, you bring people behind a SCIF door and talk face-to-face.

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