The official state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter will take place on Jan. 9 in Washington, D.C., following days of services and ceremonies to honor the 39th President.
President Joe Biden declared Jan. 9 a National Day of Mourning, and ordered all executive departments and agencies of the federal government to close out of respect for the former President, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. But ceremonies honoring Carter will start before then, on Jan. 4, when a motorcade will take Carter through his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
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Here’s what to know about the scheduled tributes for the former President.
What happens before the state funeral?
On Jan. 4, Carter will be taken through his hometown by motorcade, which will take a “brief pause” at his boyhood home in front of his family’s farm, according to a schedule released by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington. There, the National Park Service will salute and ring a historic farm bell 39 times.
The motorcade will then take Carter to Atlanta, pausing at the Georgia State Capitol for a moment of silence led by Gov. Brian Kemp and other state and local officials. Carter will then be carried into the Carter Presidential Center, where a private service will take place. The former President will then lie in repose at the Atlanta center and the public can come and pay their respects until 6 a.m. on Jan. 7.
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On Jan. 7, Carter will be taken to the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., where a funeral procession will march to the U.S. Capitol. There, members of Congress will be able to pay their respects during a service held in the Rotunda. The former President will then lie in state, which will open to the public later that evening. Carter will lie in state until the morning of Jan. 9.
What will happen on the day of the funeral?
The morning of Jan. 9, a motorcade will take Carter from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington National Cathedral, where the national funeral service will run from 10-11 a.m. ET. The schedule released by the U.S. military task force didn’t include details about the state service, but Biden previously said that Carter had asked him to deliver a eulogy at his funeral.
After the service, Carter will be flown back to Georgia, and a private funeral service will take place in Plains at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter taught Sunday school and where a funeral service was held for his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in November 2023.
A motorcade will then take the former President and his family through downtown Plains for Carter’s final journey through his hometown. The motorcade will take Carter to his family’s residence for a private interment next to his wife, according to the New York Times. Before the interment, the U.S. Navy will honor the former President with a missing man formation flyover.
Who will attend the funeral?
Biden will attend the state funeral, and other former presidents and first ladies are likely to attend as well. President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to attend the funeral.
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