Donald Trump Inauguration Parade: Full List of Participants

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Barack Obama drives down Pennsylvania avenue during the Inauguration Parade on January 21, 2013. (Getty)

The inauguration of Donald Trump is just a few weeks away.

On January 20th, Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. But this is just the start of a day full of events that includes the inaugural parade. Participants are chosen by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and the event itself is organized by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region. Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and some special guests will view the parade from a Presidential Reviewing Stand.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has now released a list of all of the groups that will march in the parade. The committee says, however, that more may be added over the course of the next few weeks. Some of the groups on the list, especially those from colleges, have faced backlash for agreeing to march in the parade, although most of them have said that they would be doing so regardless of who won the election.

Here’s a look at everyone who has been announced to participate in the inaugural parade.


  • 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment – A U.S. army equestrian military unit posted at Fort Hood, Texas. The division has participated in several previous inaugural parades including Barack Obama’s in 2009. The unit consists of 40 people and dates back to 1972. Its current commander is Captain Elizabeth Rascon.
  • 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard – A division stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas. Troopers in this unit are outfitted in uniforms from the Civil War, and they often participate in rodeos, community events, and parades.
  • Boone County Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team – An equestrian team from Kentucky that was developed to lease horses to children who might not otherwise have the chance to ride them, according to the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Riders range in age from 10 to 17, and the group is currently raising funds to cover the cost of travel to Washington, D.C.
  • Caisson Platoon, Fort Myer – A U.S. army platoon from Fort Myer, Virginia. They are known for participating in funerals of those who die in service of their country and who are buried in Arlington National Cemetary.
  • Cleveland Police Mounted Unit – Cleveland, Ohio’s mounted units, and one of the oldest of its kind in the country. They participated in the inauguration of Warren Harding in 1921, and years later, they marched in his funeral procession. The unit consists of seven riders and seven horses, according to its website.
  • Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes & Drums – A marching band founded in 2001 that performs at memorial services, parades, veterans events, and other similar occasions. They are currently raising funds on GoFundMe to support their trip to Washington, D.C.
  • Columbus North High School Band – A marching band also known as Sound of North from a high school in Columbus, Indiana. This is the school from which Vice President-Elect Mike Pence graduated in 1977. According to Fox 59, the band’s director pitched the idea of performing at the inaugural parade to a state representative, who then passed it along to Mike Pence himself.
  • Culver Academy Equestrian – An equestrian group from Culver Academy, a boarding school in Indiana. This group participated in the inauguration parade of Woodrow Wilson in 1913 and again in 1937; Wilson’s running mate, Thomas Marshall, was the governor of Indiana just like the current vice president-elect. Fifty-six boys from Culver Military Academy, and 24 girls from Culver Girls Academy, will participate.
  • First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry – A volunteer cavalry troop from Pennsylvania. This group dates back to 1774, as it was the first cavalry organized to defend the colonies. They previously participated in the inauguration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
  • Fishburne Military School Army JROTC Caissons Battalion – A battalion from the Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. This school for children grades 7 through 12 was established in 1879, and its members have never before marched in an inaugural parade.
  • Frankfort High School Band – A marching band from a high school in Ridgeley, West Virginia. The school consists of 600 students, and its first graduating class was in 1977.
  • Franklin Regional High School Panther Marching Band – A marching band from a high school in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. The band consists of 200 members, and it marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2003 and 2009, according to the Pittsburgh Gazette.
  • Indianapolis Metro Police Motorcycle Drill Team – A drill team consisting of twenty motorcycle officers from Indiana who march in parades across the city. The group has participated in six previous inaugurations going back to John F. Kennedy’s in 1961, according to the IndyStar.
  • Lil Wranglers – A group of dancers from College Station, Texas. These dancers range in age from 8 to 18, and this is their first national performance, having only appeared at local parades in the past, according to the Star-Telegram. The group was recommended by Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
  • Marist College Band – A band of 150 students from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Shortly after the band’s participation in the parade was announced, a petition was launched urging the university to back out. This petition has since garnered over 2,300 signatures. The Change.org page reads, “We are all disappointed with the Marist’s decision to participate in Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s history of racism, bigotry and sexism does not reflect Marist College values. We are concerned that participating in this inauguration will send the message that Marist supports Trump’s values, even if that is not the college’s intention.”
  • Merced County Sheriff’s Posse – A unit from Hilmar, California consisting of 14 horses. Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke says that they would have performed regardless of who was elected president. “The person isn’t the reason we’re going,” he told the Merced Sun-Star. “It’s to honor and represent the president.”
  • Michigan Multi-Jurisdictional Mounted Police Drill Team & Color Guard – A drill team from Ann Arbor, Michigan that participated in the past three presidential inaugurations. Co-founder Lorenzo Veal had a clear message for Washington when speaking to WSJM. “One of the things we put in our application was that, if a group of officers from different departments can get together for a focused endeavor like this particular drill team, we want to know why Congress can’t get together and focus on some endeavors that will benefit the people,” Veal said.
  • Mid America Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team – An equestrian team based out of Three Oaks, Michigan and consisting of 18 horses and riders, according to their GoFundMe page on which they are seeking help to cover the costs of attending the parade. Team coordinator Debbie Dunphy told Harbor County News that “there’s so much to do but they don’t give us a lot of time.”
  • Nassau County Firefighters Pipes & Drums – A  bagpipe band made up of volunteer firefighters, established in 1985 and based out of Levittown, New York. This is one of three bands from New York attending the inauguration, and one of two from Long Island.
  • North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association – A group from Hillsborough, North Carolina founded in 1989 with the goal of promoting “the bonds of brotherhood that binds a group of men who have shared and survived an experience fraught with danger yet filled with the essence of pride and satisfaction,” according to its website. They previously attended the inauguration parade for Bill Clinton in 1997 and George W. Bush in 2001.
  • NYPD Emerald Society Pipes & Drums – A band made up of Irish and Irish-American police from East Moriches, New York. The band was formed in 1960 and it consists of over 100 members.
  • Olivet Nazarene University’s Tiger Marching Band – A marching band from a Christian liberal arts university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It consists of about 140 members. The university’s president, John Bowling, said that performing at the inauguration does not mean the school is taking a political stance. Bowling told The Guardian, “…the inauguration is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power. I am pleased our students will have the opportunity to participate in a historic event.” A petition calling on the university to withdraw has nearly reached 2,000 signatures. Bowling’s wife donated to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
  • Palmetto Ridge High School Band – A marching band consisting of 250 members from Naples, Florida. They are seeking $135,000 on GoFundMe in hopes of bringing the entire band to Washington, D.C.
  • Russellville High School Band – The band from a high school in Russellville, Arkansas. They previously marched during the inauguration of Jimmy Carter in 1977 and Bill Clinton in 1997. They are seeking $150,000 on GoFundMe.
  • Talladega College Band – The marching band also known as the Marching Tornadoes from the oldest historically black college in Alabama. Their participation in the inauguration has sparked backlash on social media, especially because other historically black colleges like Howard University have publicly declined to march in the parade, according to The Associated Press.
  • Texas State University Strutters – A dance team from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas that previously performed at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. When the group announced their participation in the inaugural parade on Instagram, the post was flooded with negative comments urging them to back out, some of which have since been removed. “This is so embarrassing for all Texas State alumni,” one user wrote. “Bobcats have worked so hard for equality and diversity and here come the strutters to mess it all up and take us back 50 years.”
  • The Citadel Regimental Band & Pipes and Summerall Guards – The marching band of The Citadel, a military college located in Charleston, South Carolina. The band consists of about 100 members, and they have marched in the inauguration parades of Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.
  • The Freedom Riders – A group of six female horseback riders from Kersey, Colorado. They previously performed at the inauguration of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Each of the six women carries the American flag with them as they ride. “I think it stirs patriotism in people,” one of the group’s founders, Lee Lockhart, told the Greeley Tribune. “It’s not about the person carrying the flag, it’s about what the flag represents.”
  • Tupelo High School Band – The marching band of a high school in Tupelo, Mississippi. It consists of students from sixth through eighth grade, and the group describes itself as “a high-energy organization that strives to both educate and entertain our city and the surrounding areas,” according to its website.
  • University of Tennessee Marching Band – Also known as the Pride of the Southland Band, this is the marching band of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The band consists of 300 members, and it has performed at almost every presidential inauguration since that of Lyndon Johnson in 1965. However, it was not invited to the 2013 inauguration, with the university’s president saying that he was told the band had performed too many times, according to the Knoxsville News Sentinel. They will be back at the inauguration parade this year.
  • VMI Corps of Cadets – Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. They have previously performed at 15 presidential inaugurations, marching for William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
  • West Monroe High School Marching Band – The marching band of a high school in West Monroe, Louisiana. They previously performed at the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2005.“This kind of unique transfer of power the United States has that makes us unique to the rest of the world is something that’s pretty unforgettable and is really something that high school kids would only get to experience once,” the band’s director, Robert Freeman, told KPEL.

In addition, the following national organizations will participate in the inauguration parade: American Veterans, Boy Scouts of America, US Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed American Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, US Border Patrol Pipes & Drums, Wounded Warrior Project and Kids Overseas.


Read more about Donald Trump’s inauguration in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com: