Arrest me at the Pentagon

I almost got arrested at the Pentagon (in my version of the story). :) I wanted to see the Pentagon while I was in DC. There's a station called Pentagon station, so I got off the subway and stepped outside. There's a bunch of people walking and buses and stuff, and I turn to my right and there's a big boring looking building behind a construction fence. Then I checked my GPS on my phone and saw that it was the Pentagon. So I stopped and took some pictures with my phone, including a picture of the security guard standing there. That's when he noticed me. He walked over and and said, "man, what are you doing, look at the sign." Then I noticed a sign that said "no pictures." So I felt embarrassed and showed him that I was deleting the picture.

But something was a little funny about the whole thing. And then I realized what it was. I've never been in a public place, outside, and been told not to take pictures. So I asked him where I could go to take pictures. He said I couldn't take pictures of the Pentagon from anywhere. Clearly he wasn't understanding, so I said, what about that highway with all the traffic. I can take pictures from there, right? "No" was the answer. So I rolled my eyes and said I was going to walk away a ways to find a spot to take a picture.

I walked about 200 feet away and didn't see any signs around. I was still on a sidewalk with a bunch of people. So I held my phone up and took a picture. Then I noticed a guy in his cop car, from the other direction, pointing to me. He got out and walked over. "Where are you from." I said "New Jersey." "Why are you taking pictures of the Pentagon." My simple response: "It's the Pentagon. It's famous." He told me that I couldn't, and I then proceeded to engage this guy with logic. He lightened up and turned out to treat me decently. He said I'm on a military base and have to respect where I am. There are vehicles of military personnel parked all around, for instance, and they don't want licence. plates photographed. It was news to me that the subway popped us out in the middle of a military base, but I appreciated the explanation. He told me I could go to the other side of the building where the 9/11 memorial is to take a picture. So that's what I did.

As I walked the direction of the 9/11 memorial, I backtracked to the place where the first security guard was standing. He came over my direction, about 50 feet, and asked, "Did you just go over there and take a picture." I said yes. "After I told you not to---you must be stupid." Then I said, "You didn't give me accurate information. I asked you if I could take a picture from that highway." He responded, "And I told you 'no.'" I cut in "...and that was a lie. I can take a picture if I'm not on base." He just continued to call me stupid while one of his buddies laughed about it. I was quite upset but just decided to leave him behind with a "whatever."