PHOTOS: EX-US PRESIDENT CARTER LIES IN STATE AFTER SOMBER WASHINGTON PROCESSION
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The body of late US President Jimmy Carter was transferred Tuesday in a grand and solemn military ceremony to the US Capitol, where it will lie in state until a national funeral later this week.
Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, served a single term from 1977-1981 and was widely praised for his post-presidential humanitarian efforts, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
His body arrived at the snow-covered US Capitol, where it will remain until Thursday, after a full day of ceremonious travel that began in his native Georgia.
Members of the public pay their respects in front of the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)
A live feed by broadcaster PBS showed members of the public move through the building’s rotunda to pay their respects to the late president, with many stopping to take a moment of silence with their hands clasped.
The public views the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)
“I paid my respects to President Jimmy Carter as he lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda today,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on X. “On behalf of the entire Department of Defense, we join the Carter family and all Americans in celebrating this extraordinary life, legacy, and service to our nation.”
A military guard of honor stands next to the flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter during the Lying in State Ceremony at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / POOL / AFP)
Having been flown to Washington aboard a presidential US Air Force jet, Carter’s flag-draped casket was carried atop a gun carriage in a funeral procession from the US Navy Memorial — an ode to his military service on submarines — to Capitol Hill, tracing the opposite route he took during his inauguration parade.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) delivers a eulogy at the Lying in State Ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / POOL / AFP)
Hundreds of US service members accompanied the procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, which was cleared of snow from a recent winter storm that has prompted federal office and school closures in the area.
(L-R) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kimberley Thune, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), second gentleman Doug Emhoff and and Vice President Kamala Harris attend a Lying in State Ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Tierney CROSS / AFP)
Military pallbearers then carried his casket up to the Capitol Rotunda where a short service was held, with Carter’s family, members of Congress and other dignitaries including Chief Justice John Roberts and Vice President Kamala Harris in attendance.
The flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter travelling by a horse-drawn caisson arrives to the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP)
Carter is the 13th former US president to lie in state in the Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in 1865, was the first.
The flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter travelling by a horse-drawn caisson arrives to the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
The ceremony has taken on added significance, coming a day after the anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, in which Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building in an attempt to block certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter is transferred to a horse-drawn caisson at the US Navy Memorial before traveling on to the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025, where Carter will lie in state. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Ting Shen / AFP)
On Monday, Congress certified Trump’s win over Harris without any disruptions and with the complex under very heavy security.
A state funeral service is to be held Thursday at the National Cathedral, an Episcopal church in Washington that also hosted funerals for former presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter as Carter lies in state at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite / POOL / AFP)
Current President Biden is to deliver the eulogy for his fellow Democrat.
The riderless horse is seen at the conclusion of the State Funeral Procession of former US President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 7, 2025. The riderless horse is a tradition associated with military funerals; the backward-facing boots symbolize the fallen leader surveying his troops for the last time. Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
All four living former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump — are expected to attend.
The US Army’s Caisson Detachment carries the casket of Jimmy Carter, the former US president who died on December 29 at the age of 100, to lie in state at the US
Capitol building in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by Brendan McDermid / POOL / AFP)
Biden has declared Thursday a national day of mourning, with federal government offices to be closed for the day.
He has also ordered flags to half-staff for 30 days as is customary, which means that will be the case during Trump’s January 20 inauguration, something the Republican has criticized.
The first president to reach triple digits, Carter had been in hospice care since February 2023 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he died and will be buried next to his late wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
The casket of former US President Jimmy Carter arrives on a horse-drawn caisson to the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2025. – Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Photo by SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP)
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