WASHINGTON -- Americans are waiting, sometimes for three hours or more, for the chance to see President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in person.
Once they make it inside the Senate chamber, they sit in a gallery that is often at least half-empty, at times almost deserted; there's a disconnect between the people who control the tickets and those who want to sit through the proceedings.
"Why are they limiting the seats when there's so many available?" asked Randy Dyess, 63, of West Palm Beach, Fla.
A self-described "extreme Republican" who calls Trump "better than Lincoln," Dyess had waited in line for three hours so he could sit inside the chambers. But even though there were entire rows unoccupied, a time limit forced him and the others in his group to exit after a half-hour.
Guests, whether pro-Trump or anti-Trump, expressed puzzlement that they'd been kept waiting while scores of seats were empty. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette counted 178 seats taken and nearly 300 empty at one point Tuesday.
"I don't really see a reason to keep us waiting," said 17-year-old Rylie Reid, a pro-impeachment Texan who plans to attend the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, later this year.
Still, she would stand in line for hours if that's what it took to get inside.
"I really want to see it because I think it's a cool part of history," the Houston resident said, adding, "I don't think it will happen again in my lifetime."
Visitors who do get into the Capitol negotiate hallways swarming with uniformed law enforcement officials. Ticketholders are warned that applause "or any other type of demonstration either by sound or sign" can result in arrest or expulsion.
Guests who received all-day passes from their senators were ushered into the gallery fairly quickly. Each senator received three such passes for constituents, plus a fourth for the Family Gallery, officials said.
Meanwhile, of those waiting in line, three dozen or so are allowed to sit in the gallery, then are ushered out after a half-hour.
Those fortunate enough to get a seat are able to catch a glimpse of history.
On Tuesday evening, observers were also able to watch U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, take a lengthy nap. While he slumped, eyes closed, head cradled in his hand, House Democrats serving as impeachment managers stressed the importance of a fair trial with evidence and testimony.
There weren't any photojournalists or television news crews on hand to zoom in on the empty seats in the gallery or the slumbering senator; their cameras are banned from the chambers.
Instead, government employees run the cameras and decide what the public can see.
Reporters aren't allowed to take phones or computers into the chamber. Even smart watches and Fitbit devices have been banned.
Instead of passing only through one of the magnetometers at the Capitol's entry points, journalists now pass through a second magnetometer before entering the press gallery.
When the senators are entering or leaving the chambers, nearby journalists are herded into roped-off areas, ensuring that they can't follow the lawmakers they're supposed to cover.
Restrictions aren't limited to the Senate hallways.
Interviews at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, where trial attendees line up for hours, are also prohibited, officials there say.
A Democrat-Gazette reporter, speaking with ticketholders about their lengthy waits, was told he must not interact with the people in line.
"You can't be reporting, asking them questions," a staff member said.
In a phone call minutes later, Architect of the Capitol communications specialist Laura Trivers concurred.
"The rule tends to be that people in line are not -- cannot -- be interviewed," she said.
Asked about the rationale for prohibiting discussions between journalists and impeachment observers, she said: "I don't make the rules. ... As you know, there are a lot of rules in the Capitol."
Two Louisiana visitors who were prevented from speaking with the Democrat-Gazette later expressed amazement at the government intervention.
"I'm one of the women you were interviewing in line at the Capitol today. You were interviewing my friend when the staff member handed you the phone and you were told to not talk to people in line," Sandra Slifer of Abita Springs wrote in an email. "Just wanted you to know how disturbing this incident is."
The interaction puzzled others in line, she said.
"Those young women, the college-age women that were behind us, we talked with them, several times and they truly were shook by what they witnessed happen," Slifer, 64, said in a subsequent telephone interview.
Jeannine Meeds, a Mandeville-area tree farmer, said the interaction had made a big impression on students from St. Olaf College in Minnesota.
"They kept on saying, 'Well, what about freedom of the press?' I think they were shocked, literally shocked," Meeds added.
The tightened restrictions on the Senate side are a break with tradition, according to Sarah D. Wire of the Los Angeles Times, chairwoman of the Standing Committee of Correspondents and a former Washington correspondent for the Democrat-Gazette.
"Capitol Hill is one of the most accessible places in Washington, but the proposed restrictions exceed those put in place during the State of the Union, Inauguration Day or even during the Clinton impeachment trial 20 years ago," she wrote in a Jan. 14 letter to Senate leaders.
In an interview, Wire portrayed the restrictions as troubling.
"My concern is what it means for Americans not being able to access information," she said. "The cameras inside the chambers are controlled by the government. No photographers. Americans deserve an eyewitness to this important moment."
The rules changes are the work of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, which is chaired by U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said Blunt wants to avoid volatile confrontations similar to those that occurred during the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
"The Kavanaugh experience was not a good one; people in the hallways yelling in your face, jumping on the elevators and things, lots of paid protesters up here," Boozman said. "So far that hasn't occurred, which is a good thing."
Boozman predicted that if the impeachment trial is lengthy, some of the restrictions might be eased.
A Section on 01/23/2020