On Monday, January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States during a historic inauguration ceremony. The ceremony took place at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Several key figures from politics, government, and society were invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration and its associated events. Amidst this, an unusual video clip garnered significant attention, showing Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun attending Trump’s inaugural ‘Liberty Ball,’ an official dinner with the President. In another viral video of Pannun from the swearing-in ceremony, he is seen raising slogans of “Khalistan Zindabad.” With the viral video, it is been widely claimed that Pannun was invited to the event by the elected President Trump, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly not invited.
Sharing the video, the handle Manjot Singh wrote, “Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was invited to attend the inaugural “The Liberty Ball” ( official dinner with President elected Mr. Donald Trump ). Modi not Invited” (Archived link)
🔴 Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was invited to attend the inaugural "The Liberty Ball" ( official dinner with President elected Mr. Donald Trump ).
— Manjot Singh (@ManjotS320) January 21, 2025
Modi not Invited 😂 pic.twitter.com/iGgLhsIUzH
Sadaf Afreen wrote, “The religious gurus who were invited to pray for Trump during his swearing-in ceremony are: 1) Catholic Priest 2) Muslim Imam 3) Jewish Rabbi 4) Pastor. A representative from Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) was also invited! But no Hindu Pandit was invited! I feel sorry for those who performed havan after havan for hours to ensure Trump’s victory!” (Archived link)
ट्रंप के शपथ ग्रहण में ट्रंप को दुआ देने के लिए जिन धार्मिक गुरुओं को इन्विटेशन दिया गया था वो है–
— Sadaf Afreen صدف (@s_afreen7) January 21, 2025
1) कैथोलिक प्रीस्ट
2) मुस्लिम इमाम
3) यहूदी रब्बी
4) पादरी
•सिख फॉर जस्टिस (SFJ) प्रतिनिधि को भी आमंत्रित किया गया!
पर किसी भी हिन्दू पंडित को आमंत्रित नहीं किया गया!
उनके लिए… pic.twitter.com/hOHpbojUqz
Supriya Shrinate stated, “Khalistani Gurpatwant Singh Pannun invited to attend US President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberty Ball’ Pannun is also seen hailing Khalistan Will the Indian government remain a mere spectator or will we object to this? Is it right for America to welcome those who conspire against our territorial integrity? Or is Prime Minister Modi ready to pay this price to save Adani?” (Archived link)
खालिस्तानी गुरपतवंत सिंह पन्नून को अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के 'लिबर्टी बॉल' में शामिल होने के लिए आमंत्रित किया गया
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) January 22, 2025
पन्नून खालिस्तान की जय-जयकार करता भी नजर आ रहा है
क्या भारत सरकार सिर्फ मूकदर्शक बनी रहेगी या हम इस पर आपत्ति जताएंगे?
क्या हमारी भूभागीय अखंडता के… pic.twitter.com/TRasqsSk7l
Another handle Ranjan asserted, “So, Modi was snubbed by Trump and did not invite him for his oath taking ceremony. And at the same time Khalistan Separatist Pannu was invited to the Inaugural Ball. James Bond and Laser Eyes are doing a great job… With reels.” (Archived link)
So, Modi was snubbed by Trump and did not invite him for his oath taking ceremony.
— Dr Ranjan (@AAPforNewIndia) January 21, 2025
And at the same time Khalistan Separatist Pannu was invited to the Inaugural Ball.
James Bond and Laser Eyes are doing a great job… With reels. pic.twitter.com/9lMkSHm9Ui
Nitin stated, “Khalistani terrorist Pannun was present at Trump’s inauguration & proudly made ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogans Has our Foreign Minister lodged a complaint with the new US govt? Lal aankh dhikao do Jaishankar.” (Archived link)
Khalistani terroristPannun was present at Trump's inauguration & proudly made 'Khalistan Zindabad' slogans
— ηᎥ†Ꭵղ (@nkk_123) January 21, 2025
Has our Foreign Minister lodged a complaint with the new US govt? Lal aankh dhikao do Jaishankar. pic.twitter.com/ezAowDyT9D
Tanmoy wrote, “This is big. Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was invited to attend the inaugural “The Liberty Ball” (official dinner with President-elect Donald Trump). If this is true, Modi has only two options: Surrender to Trump for Adani or abandon Adani for the country.” (Archived link)
This Is BIG 💥
— তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) January 22, 2025
🔴 Khalistani Terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was invited to attend the inaugural "The Liberty Ball" (Official Dinner with President Elected #DonaldTrump)
𝐈𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞, #Modi has Only Two Options:
🔸𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧… pic.twitter.com/Zg5XGx3df3
This claim was also made by other handles like Negan (Archived link), and Political Buzz (Archived link).
Also Read: No, EAM S. Jaishankar Was Not Asked to Leave During Trump Inauguration Ceremony
Fact Check
To verify the viral claim of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu being invited to Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, we checked the list of guests invited to the event. We did a keyword search and found a report by CBS New that includes details about notable political figures, celebrities, dignitaries, and other prominent guests who attended Donald Trump’s second swearing-in ceremony on January 20.
According to the report, the event was attended by four former US presidents, Vice President Kamala Harris, nine Supreme Court justices and prominent figures such as Mike Pence, Hillary Clinton and several proposed cabinet members. Tech leaders Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were also present. Foreign dignitaries including Argentine President Javier Miley and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were present, while Chinese Vice President Han Zheng represented President Xi Jinping. Country music star Carrie Underwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio performed at the inauguration ceremony. In addition, singers from the United States Marine Band and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also performed at the event. The report further stated that Lady Michelle Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to skip the event.
The report published by CBS News does not mention Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu being invited to the inauguration ceremony, which suggests that he was not officially invited by President-elect Trump but was allowed to attend the event through some other means. In the next step, we checked what were the other ways he could have attended the events if he was not officially invited.
During this, we found a report from The Guardian titled “Access to Trump and Vance at inauguration is twice as expensive for donors.” The report gives detailed information on how to access private events with Trump and Vance, including getting tickets to dinners and other special events by donating at least $1 million to a fundraising committee.
The article provides a ticket price chart that shows the benefits for donors who support the Trump-Vance inauguration ceremony. According to fundraising materials, there are five levels of ticket packages for donating $1 million, $500,000, $250,000, $100,000 or $50,000. Donors can avail of the benefits based on their contribution, with higher-level donors getting up to 6 tickets, while lower-level donors only get 2 tickets. To get access to the Candlelight Dinner with Trump and the Vice President’s Dinner with Vance, donors must contribute at the $1 million level, The Guardian reports. A contribution of $500,000 will limit access to the Candlelight Dinner only.
Other events include the Make America Great Again Victory Rally and Cabinet Reception on January 18; the One America, One Light Sunday Service on January 19; and the Swearing-in Ceremony, Parade and Starlight Ball on January 20. Top donors ($1 million+) will receive 6 tickets to each event, while $500,000 donors will receive 4 tickets, and the bottom tier will receive 2 tickets.
The tickets were purchased through the private booking websites like Bucket List Events, where to get details about the package, one must provide information such as how many events you want to attend and the number of guests.
According to the Economic Times, Trump set a record-breaking fundraising total of $250 million for his inaugural ceremony.
In addition, tickets were also distributed to the general public. While tickets to Donald Trump’s inauguration were free, they were very limited in number. These free tickets allowed the public to attend the in-person inaugural swearing-in ceremonies of the President-elect and Vice President-elect on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) who organizes president inauguration ceremony is responsible for issuing tickets. According to its website over 220,000 color-coded tickets, each with advanced security features to prevent counterfeiting. Tickets have been distributed to Members of Congress on January 13, 2025, who are responsible for sharing them with their constituents. These constituency residents can use the tickets to attend the inauguration ceremony. Tickets cannot be mailed or distributed digitally. Approved applicants must pick up tickets from a member of Congress’ office with a valid ID that matches their original request.
Diplomats, friends, families, and notable key figures are officially invited, while ordinary people who wish to attend the events will have to raise or donate funds to purchase tickets for the exclusive events. In addition, tickets are also distributed to the general public for free by Members of Congress.
We also obtained a 2017 report detailing the protocol followed during Trump’s first inaugural ceremony, including how tickets and guests were managed. The report highlights the importance of protocol during a U.S. presidential inauguration. For the Liberty Ball event, apart from VVIPs such as senators, diplomats, congressmen, family, and friends, other attendees, including donors, were required to purchase tickets at the agreed price.
| Claim | Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu was invited to the inaugural ceremony by Trump. |
| Claimed by | Sadaf Afreen, Supriya Shrinate, and others |
| Conclusion | Therefore, Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was not invited to Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony; instead, he purchased a ticket, which was available to the general public. Invitations were extended only to foreign diplomats, the President, the Vice President, Congress members, European conservative leaders such as Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán, Argentinian President Javier Milei, and prominent U.S.-based tech CEOs, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and Jeff Bezos. |
