Will Higgins

will.higgins@indystar.com

Indianapolis marked Friday's presidential inauguration of Donald Trump with a restraint that, considering the excitement and fear surrounding it, was remarkable.

There was no hard-edged protesting in the streets, and there wasn't much revelry either.

At Loughmiller's Pub, across Washington Street from the Statehouse, where politicians are known to nosh frequently, the televisions were tuned to the midday inauguration — but it might as well have been a hockey game for all the attention the lunch crowd paid it. As framed photos of Indiana governors, mayors, lawmakers and even a Marion County recorder looked out from the walls, the pub marked the dawn of the Trump era simply by offering half-off appetizers.

Even as Mike Pence, the former Indiana governor who used to work right across the street, took the oath of office of the vice presidency, most customers continued on with business as usual. Few even looked up at the TV newscasts as they captured the D.C. spectacle.

Elvis Brown, 43, found this surprising. A Trump supporter, Brown had come to see history. "This is a political place here, so it's really strange people aren't paying attention," Brown said. "I myself have a lot of faith in Trump."

On Monument Circle, several hundred people gathered not to protest Trump, they insisted, but to galvanize opposition to Trump's agenda. Mayor Joe Hogsett, one of about a dozen speakers, noted the rally's "nonpartisan nature," but allowed that "these are challenging times." Hogsett, a Democrat, pledged solidarity with the consortium of organizers: the ACLU of Indiana, Exodus Refugee Immigration, Indianapolis Urban League, Hoosier Environmental Council, Planned Parenthood, Muslim Alliance of Indiana, Indiana Youth Group, Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance and other groups.

Ann D'Angelo, a volunteer for the ACLU, wore a State of Liberty outfit and encouraged people to take their own oath, which they could read from a card she provided: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Then they were invited to give a reason for their commitment. About 20 people did, giving as reasons gay rights, racial equality and protection for immigrants.

Jesse Kharbanda of the Hoosier Environmental Council urged the crowd to "make choices that are compassionate, foresighted and brave," while a man on a bicycle rode behind him in circles, pulling a banner urging people to eat at nearby Giordano's.

Several speakers gave shout-outs to a different restaurant, Mimi Blue Meatballs, that had pledged to give away a portion of every check from sales on Inauguration Day to the Immigrant Welcome Center and Women4Change Indiana. "Won't you join me for a meatball?" Hogsett said to applause.

Separately, Silver in the City, a jewelry and housewares store, pledged to donate all sales proceeds from the day to Planned Parenthood Indiana and Kentucky.

Further south, in Pence's hometown of Columbus, revelry was more apparent. The city early Friday changed the welcome sign at the edge of town. In addition to proclaiming the city the birth place of race car driver Tony Stewart, the sign now also says the city is the “Hometown of Michael R. Pence, United States Vice President.”

At city hall residents, city workers and elected officials not in Washington gathered around televisions and cheered Pence’s ascendency. And at the Catholic parochial school Pence attended as a child, students sat transfixed as their most famous alumnus took the oath of office.

Back in Indianapolis, with evening temperatures forecast in the balmy mid-50s, people planned to gather in Fountain Square's Pioneer Plaza to group-sing Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." The performance was not intended to be "contentious or politically pointed," according to local filmmaker Matt Mays, one of the organizers. The plan was to videotape the singalong and make it available on social media.

IndyStar reporters Amy Haneline and Robert King contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter: @WillRHiggins.

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