Watch: Capitol Police Stop Children’s Choir from Singing the National Anthem Inside US Capitol

On Tuesday, a video emerged of Rushingbrook Children’s Choir singing the national anthem in Statuary Hall, one of the most popular rooms inside the United States Capitol.

In the video, a man can be seen approaching the Choir Director, and speaking into his ear, as the singing children looked on in confusion before they were directed to cease singing.

In the video, the children can be heard artfully singing the lyrics:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,

Notably, the choir was cut off right before the final, and likely most esteemed line of “The Star- Spangled Banner”:

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

What an American tragedy!

Reportedly, a representative of the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir was told that:

Certain Capitol Police said it might offend someone or cause issues.

Rushingbrook Children’s Choir were singing the National Anthem in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol when they were interrupted by Capitol police.

A representative from the choir was told that “certain Capitol police said it might offend someone/cause issues.” pic.twitter.com/3J8BSBsBSu

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 2, 2023

A complete version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” showing spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key’s manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection, can be viewed here.

Rushingville Children’s Choir is a Greenville, South Carolina-based Christian group. Its website conveys the religious mission of the young vocalists:

To awaken and develop in Christian young people their God-given musical ability, to nurture a sense of artistry in singing, and to do all for the glory of God.

A different version of events emerged on a progressive social media influencers’ account, claiming the incident took place six days ago, and the cause of the song’s stoppage was because singing isn’t allowed in the Capitol, and that, in fact, the children were allowed to finish their song. Now, anybody who knows and respects our national anthem knows how the song ends and can hear in the video that the youth choir was prevented from finishing their performance. The account wrote:

Recently somebody posted a video of a children’s choir singing the Star-Spangled Banner in the U.S. Capitol Building and wrongfully claimed we stopped the performance because it ‘might offend someone.’ Here is the truth. Demonstrations and musical performances are not allowed in the U.S. Capitol. Of course, because the singers in this situation were children, our officers were reasonable and allowed the children to finish their beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. The Congressional staff member who was accompanying the group knew the rules, yet lied to the officers multiple times about having permission from various offices. The staffer put both the choir and our officers, who were simply doing their jobs, in an awkward and embarrassing position.

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned the move by Capitol Police on social media, writing:

The National Anthem sung by children is not offensive, it’s needed more.

This incident is not the first high-profile reprimand of Christian children at the U.S. Capitol. In 2019, Covington Catholic High School students were near the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., on a trip to attend the pro-life March for Life. The media released photos and videos of the students’ interaction with a Native American man, Nathan Phillips, telling audiences that the Catholic students were aggressive or mocking the Indigenous man. Videos released after the media blitz exonerated the students.

UPDATE: Jack Posobiec shares more details on the choir’s appearance in the Capitol, along with a longer version of the video:

BREAKING: US Capitol Police order children to stop singing the National Anthem

Internalize this pic.twitter.com/jpMCaizCZx

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) June 2, 2023