WASHINGTON: 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.

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. “I paid my respects to President Jimmy Carter as he lies in state in the US 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.”

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. 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.

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.

Carter is the 13th former US president to lie in state in the Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in 1865, was the first. 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.

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 HW Bush.

Current President Biden is to deliver the eulogy for his fellow Democrat.

All four living former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama and Trump—are expected to attend. Biden has declared Thursday a national day of mourning, with federal government offices to be closed for the day. – AFP