Why was Booth admitted into the presidential box?

[RJNorton]

The Lincoln assassination is full of material that cannot always be 100% verified. I think Forbes' presence, or lack of it, is one of these cases - we just have to (in our own minds) go by what we see as the weight of the evidence. And IMO the weight of the evidence indicates Forbes was the man seated outside the passageway to the State Box. I am not 100% certain of this, but that is my belief. I do believe there was some sort of "communication" between Booth and Forbes prior to Booth's entry, but I am not sure of the exact nature of this.

One of the best discussions I have ever seen of the Forbes' situation is in John Fazio's book titled Decapitating the Union: Jefferson Davis, Judah Benjamin and the Plot to Assassinate Lincoln. Kees, if you have that book, please see pp. 174-183 which covers the Forbes situation in detail with more information/accounts than I think I have seen in any other book. I commend Mr. Fazio for all the research he did on this matter.