Miss Thompson Goes to Washington: Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

I just returned to my Capitol Hill apartment from the White House, where a mob of people gathered to celebrate the defeat of Osama Bin Laden. Tonight was an epic moment in our country's history and I feel incredibly lucky to have been in our nation's capitol to celebrate it.

crowd outside the White House

I was sitting in my room watching The West Wing when I got a breaking news update on my iPhone from Huffington Post that the president was going to make a speech at 10:30 p.m. EST. I turned to CNN, where I learned first from Wolf Blitzer that the speech would be concerning national security, but not to do with Libya. He said he had his ideas of what was to be said, but didn't want to steal the president's thunder. Then John King let it loose: Osama Bin Laden is dead.

men scaling a light post to hang a flag

It didn't take long for the other students living in my building to bang down on my door. We took off in a full on sprint towards the White House. The walk outside the White House gates was filled with people when we arrived around midnight, and the crowds only continued to grow in the hour or so my friends and I were there.

The crowd was largely comprised of college students. It reminded me a lot of the mob that rushed the field when Mizzou beat Oklahoma at Homecoming last fall. There was non-stop chanting, cheering and singing... everything from a repeated chant of "USA! USA!" and singing of the National Anthem to singing "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye," chanting "fuck Osama, go Obama," singing "Olé," and chanting "4 more years!" (in reference to Obama's presidency).

the crowd watches men hang a flag on a light post

American flags were EVERYWHERE. People wore them draped over their shoulders, American flag t-shirts, hats, even an American flag bikini. Men scaled light posts to hang flags. When one struggled, the crowd cheered "YES YOU CAN!" People hung flags from the White House fence, and strung them on sticks, tree branches and lacrosse sticks. People climbed trees and carried signs... from Obama/Biden and Bush/Cheney campaign posters to hand-made posters thrown together reading things like "America, Fuck Ya!"

young boy cheers on his dad's shoulders

Inflatable beach balls bounced around the crowd, people crowd-surfed, and the whole placed smell of beer and liquor. I saw one girl lift a bottle of chardonnay.

I saw small children, older adults, but mostly college-aged people. Many races and ethnicities too. A lot of fraternity and sorority letters floating around. Many students shouting "I have a final tomorrow!" or "I have class tomorrow!" I went with a friend who had to be up at 5:30 a.m. to get to work at the State Department.

Overall, this was an incredible experience. The atmosphere was pure jubilation and patriotism.

When I left, more people were coming than going. Drivers on the streets were honking horns, cheering, chanting, hanging out of cars and waving flags. Everyone cheered together, high-fived each other, hugged, jumped, cheered together. Just incredible.

Here are some more pictures from the celebration outside the White House: