WASHINGTON — In a show of resilience, attendees of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, dressed to the nines in tuxedos and elegant gowns, continued to celebrate despite a shooting incident outside the venue on Saturday, an event that was also attended by President Trump.
Determined not to let the incident overshadow the evening, journalists and notable figures from the DC Beltway gathered at the opulent Swiss ambassador’s residence for TIME’s renowned afterparty, which remains a highlight of the evening’s festivities following the prestigious dinner.
This year’s gathering was more subdued than in previous years, with a noticeably smaller crowd. However, the security checks to enter the grand Woodley Park mansion — located approximately a mile and a half from the initial dinner site — appeared to take longer than usual.
Security teams were visibly more vigilant, ensuring that all attendees passed through magnetometers with heightened scrutiny.
Unlike the entrance procedures at the Washington Hilton for the main dinner, guests at the afterparty were required to present photo identification and have their names verified against a list for entry.
With intermittent rain and a slight chill in the air, most partygoers sought shelter indoors or beneath the event’s canopy, where they were welcomed with complimentary drinks and a variety of appetizers.
Lawmakers such as Rep. Greg Amo (D-RI) and influencers including CJ Pearson swung through the party. Last year, there were a lot more lawmakers and prominent politicos at TIME’s party.
Several TMZ reporters — whose gossipy outlet’s return to DC has been all the rage in recent weeks — showed up dressed casually in jeans, mingling with the crowd filled with sharp tuxedos and ballroom dresses.
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The party was filled with the typical DC schmoozing.
A few hotshot operatives were heard bragging about recent special elections and primaries in which they claimed they were the driving factor in winning.
Drunken reporters were embracing alcohol as a critical part of their job, too.
People were trading stories about what they witnessed at the Washington Hilton hours earlier, when the gunshots shut down the event. The afterparty was mixed with guests who were in the ballroom for the dinner and others who just decided to crash the afterparties.
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A dinner attendee carried around a glass from the Washington Hilton ballroom as a souvenir for the night to mark the history he witnessed.
Many afterparty guests were fielding calls and texts from loved ones and friends concerned about them as news of the shooting spread.
But that didn’t seem to put a damper on anyone’s relieved enjoyment that no one was hurt.
Throngs of people packed into one of the rooms for dancing to loud music. Next to it, others went out on the deck with a plum view of the Washington Monument to smoke cigars and vape.
The lively party went on past 3 a.m., when the hosts slowly started encouraging people to leave.
