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Unexpected civics lesson emerges from D.C. trip
A local father-daughter trip to Washington, D.C., to learn about the nation’s history and civics ended with a sobering lesson in both subjects Wednesday afternoon.
While Greencastle attorney Scott Bieniek and his 11-year-old daughter Kenadie were witness to some of the gathering crowds on the National Mall, they were on their way to the airport by the time rioters breached the U.S. Capitol in mid-afternoon.
“I’m glad to be back in Indiana,” Bieniek told the Banner Graphic Thursday afternoon. “Yesterday was an eventful day, that’s for sure.”
The trip was one Bieniek had been talking about for nearly four years and had nothing to do with Congress voting to affirm Joe Biden as the next president nor with the planned protests by supporters of President Donald Trump.
Instead, Bieniek, who has held jobs in politics for much of his adult life, has a friend and colleague who works for Vice President Mike Pence. With this connection, the plan was for Scott and Kenadie to get a private tour of the vice president’s office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
“We’d been planning on making this trip since Vice President Pence took office,” Bieniek said.
With time running out, Scott and wife Ashley gave the trip to Kenadie as a Christmas gift, scheduling it for Jan. 5 and 6.
The original plan had them taking a public tour of the White House on Tuesday and the private tour of the Executive Office Building on Wednesday.
“We were not in town for either rally. We rescheduled our itinerary when I learned of the rallies on Jan. 5 and 6,” Bieniek said. “I flipped the order because I feared something might happen on the 6th that would preclude us from taking the more exclusive tour.”
It turned out to be a wise move.
“Tuesday was a really awesome day,” Bieniek said.
On a day that Bieniek describes as pretty calm, with peaceful protests, the duo had lunch with Congressman Jim Baird, toured the Capitol building and then had their tour of Pence’s office.
“We got to see behind the scenes at the office, which was really neat,” Bieniek said.
When they arrived at the Executive Office Building, Pence was next door at the White House, meeting with the President.
“We were in the Executive Office Building when the vice president met with President Trump to discuss the joint session the next day,” Bieniek said. “CNN reported on the meeting while we were still in the building.”
Inside, they were able to tour the formal offices of both Vice President Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence.
“The highlight there was an opportunity to see his desk,” Bieniek said. “There is a tradition that everyone who uses the desk carves their name into a drawer. The desk Vice President Pence selected had been used by Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Joe Biden.”
That evening, however, they got word that the White House would be on lockdown on Wednesday, meaning that tour was off.
“My daughter was obviously quite disappointed,” Bieniek said. “I’ve promised her we will go back for that tour, and I’m thankful we switched the order, because few people get the access we received the night before.”
Instead, they spent Wednesday on the southern end of the National Mall seeing the various monuments, but also the larger rally.
“We saw the crowds, which were mild,” Bieniek said, noting there were lots of flags and patriotic music, though nothing he saw as out of line at that time.
However, when they reached the Lincoln Memorial, there was a group holding up a flag with a likeness of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), screaming “death to Pelosi.”
“It kind of ruined that portion of the trip so we got a few pictures and then got out of there really quick,” Bieniek said. “It just seemed the energy grew from there. It was before the president spoke.”
Noting that he was not around to hear the president’s words, which many have pointed to as inciting the crowd, Bieniek said he did not believe the vast majority were there for any sort of violent uprising.
He said the only thing bordering on being a weapon he saw as “an honest-to-goodness pitchfork.”
“I wouldn’t say I felt terribly concerned about our safety,” he said.
Bieniek also noted the lack of any opposing voices on Wednesday, though he does not espouse the view that those who stormed the Capitol were actually liberals in disguise.
“We never saw any counter-protesters, which was odd,” Bieniek said. “I don’t think there’s any credence to the Antifa argument. The folks that stormed the Capitol were the fringe people that were calling for Nancy Pelosi’s head at the Lincoln Memorial.”
The Bienieks weren’t around for any of the ensuing ugliness, though.
“I got word from someone I knew that they had found what they thought was a bomb near the RNC and we should get out,” Bieniek said.
That is just what they did, though the growing crowds and large security perimeters around the White House and Capitol complicated the trip back.
“We ended up at Union Station, which is only a few blocks from the Capitol, when it was breached,” Bieniek said. “We received an emergency alert on the train about the curfew that had been imposed.”
Later, as they awaited their flight at the airport, Kenadie noticed a familiar sight on TV. With news crews capturing footage the rioters making their way through the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, she pointed and said, “Dad, that’s where I was taking pictures yesterday.”
It was a whirlwind of a trip for more than one reason. Back safely in Greencastle, Bieniek reflected on it.
“I still haven’t had time to fully process the events of the last 48 hours,” Bieniek said. “I am grateful my daughter got to visit the Capitol and Executive Office Building. As guests of Congressman Baird and a member of the vice president’s staff, we had unprecedented access and she made memories that will last a lifetime. However, I’m saddened the memories are marred by the events of Jan. 6, 2021.”
While she got an experience that other Tzouanakis fifth-graders are likely to share, Kenadie also got a civics lesson that Bieniek hopes other parents are sharing.
“We have already spoken a little about what happened and how we, as Americans, do not settle our differences by acting that way. I hope others are having those same conversations with their children,” Bieniek said. “Our nation has always persevered and I am sure we will look back fondly on our trip to D.C. For now, I’m heartbroken that the high of Jan. 5 was followed by the low of Jan. 6.
“And I’ve never been happier to be back home in Indiana.”