Arrangements for the 2001 Presidential Inauguration were up in the air until mid-December 2000. Not when–the US Constitution specifies January 20. The unknown factor was WHO.
When the ballots were counted on Election Day 2000, Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush were neck-and-neck. Bush led the Electoral College, while Gore took the popular vote.
After recounts, ballot challenges, and hanging chads, ultimately the Supreme Court awarded the presidency to Bush.
Gore supporters were predictably upset, and some vowed to disrupt the parade that follows the swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol. Standing in their way–the Girl Scouts!
Girl Scouts and Inaugural Parades
The Girl Scouts of the USA have participated in presidential inaugural festivities since 1917. Parade organizers were skeptical that delicate young girls were up to the grueling parade and insisted on an audition. Local Girl Scout troops massed on the Ellipse and drilled until convinced.
Girl Scouts Assigned Work at Inaugurations
Inauguration Committees expanded the opportunities for Girl Scouts (and Boy Scouts) in the 1990s. Additional troops were distributed along the parade route, tasked with checking parade tickets and confirming that spectators were in their assigned block of bleachers.
In 2001, the girls wore distinctive yellow jackets that stood out on a rainy, gray day.
Along the edge of the parade cordon, pro-Gore protestors, well, protested. Chants of “Hail to the Thief!” and “Selected Not Elected” could be heard up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Girl Scouts Separate Protestors
As far as what happened next, let’s turn to the Associated Press account:
About 500 protesters entering a demonstration site along the parade route occupied a large set of bleachers reserved for spectators with tickets.
As protestors bearing anti-Bush signs and banners overflowed the bleachers, the girls, with only limited help from several Secret Service officers on the scene, formed a cordon around the demonstrators to keep them contained.
The scouts stood their ground, but shied away from confrontation. At one bleacher entrance, a protestor in a top hat posing as a ticket taker kept yelling that people should hand him their tickets.
As confused Bush supporters kept offering him tickets, scouts rushed ahead to usher them to their seats. Neither the girls nor the adult volunteers could persuade the man to leave for almost an hour. He eventually wandered off.
The entire experience was summed up by members of a Silver Spring, Maryland, troop:
“I think some of the protestors are being a little bit rude,” commented Crissi Bailey, “but some of them are being really nice and we’re learning a lot about new issues.”
We’re learning a lot about new issues.
Girl Scout Crissi Bailey
“And new cuss words,” added a second Scout.
© 2025 Ann Robertson, writer, editor, Girl Scout historian, but NOT a Girl Scout employee.
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