Phillip Swarts/MNS
Waving flags and singing songs, thousands gathered out front of the White House early Monday morning to celebrate the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan.
WASHINGTON — At 11:25 p.m. Sunday, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed. At midnight, there were hundreds of people outside the White House. By 1 a.m. Monday, there were thousands.
“I was in my pajamas, I wasn’t ready to come,” said Anna Prescott, 26, wearing a purple coat. “It’s history in the making. I wanted to see what’s going on.”
Video coverage from the White House
Medill reporter Phillip Swarts chronicles the scene on Sunday night.
Medill reporter Andrew Theen captures the raucous celebration.
The crowd chanted “USA! USA!” and sang songs ranging from the “Star-Spangled Banner” to “America the Beautiful.” Some drank champagne, some smoked cigars. Many waved flags. The lamp posts in front of the White House were draped with flags. Whenever one slipped off, someone would scale the lamp post and put the flag back, to the cheers of the surrounding crowd.
“It’s not organized, it’s kind of chaotic, but it’s more about being here during this time, because this is going to influence international policy and international security policy for our generation,” said Vikash Parekh, 29, who was with Prescott. “This is one of the defining events.”
Will Kryder, 24, said he lives about 10 blocks away from the White House and had to come down to be a part of the crowd after hearing the news that bin Laden had been killed by a U.S. operation in Pakistan.
“It’s just really sweet to see people excited like this,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time it happened.”
Marc Wachtenheim, a 37-year old D.C. businessman, said he hopes the announcement will mark the start of a new chapter.
“It’s a day to celebrate. It’s a good day for everyone who loves peace, and freedom, and democracy around the world and in this country,” he said. “But the fight isn’t over at all, so this should be a day to also not forget all of the people that sacrificed their lives and their blood for our freedom.”
Kim Jossfolk, 45, still in her pajamas, echoed the sentiment that the battle is ongoing.
“The war on terror’s not over. This is just a step,” she said. “And we may actually have some retaliation due to this. It was a step that we had to take.”
John Bianchi, 24, a researcher at a foreign embassy, said it was good to see everyone united.
“This helps to bring some closure to what happened 10 years ago,” he said. “It looks like it’s something that everyone can come together, be happy about, be proud of.”
Obama said he hoped the announcement would strengthen the sense of American unity, and for one night it seemed true. A man holding a “Bush-Cheney” sign and a woman holding an “Obama-Biden” sign were hoisted up onto people’s shoulders, proudly holding their signs next to each other for the cheering crowd.