#John Lewis’ casket arrives at US Capitol where he will lie in state

Civil rights icon John Lewis is being honored in Washington DC Monday and Tuesday, as his casket arrives in the US Capitol to begin his lie in state in the Capitol rotunda.

Lewis’ body arrived at Joint Base Andrews late Monday morning, at which point a motorcade procession began that took his remains through numerous significant historical landmarks en route to the Capitol.

The hearse carrying the 80-year-old lawmaker made its first stops of the procession at the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, where the motorcade paused briefly before moving on.

The motorcade will now pass landmarks like the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court, the National Council of Negro Women, the African American Museum and Black Lives Matter Plaza — where Lewis was last seen in public before his passing.

Upon reaching Black Lives Matter Plaza, the hearse carrying the civil rights legend stopped for the longest period of time yet. With the car standing still, Lewis’ remains were met with hundreds in the streets listening to a harmonica salute of the song “Amazing Grace.” Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser stood at the front of one of the crowds.

Lewis died earlier this month from stage-4 pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. He had been diagnosed in December of last year.

First elected in 1986 and lauded as “the conscience of Congress,” Lewis, a staunch Democrat, commanded respect from both sides of the aisle.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will deliver remarks during an invitation-only ceremony for Lewis in the Capitol beginning at 1:30 p.m.

According to plans released by Pelosi and McConnell, their speeches will be followed be a presentation of wreaths by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

Afterward, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), a longtime friend of Lewis, will give the benediction.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence, along with their wives Dr. Jill Biden and second lady Karen Pence, respectively, will be among those attending Monday’s ceremony.

The ceremony was limited in attendance size in an effort to adhere to social distancing guidelines as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Pelosi and McConnell said.