#Late Rep. John Lewis to lie in state at US Capitol next week

Late Rep. John Lewis will lie in state in the US Capitol Rotunda next week with a special two-day public viewing ceremony planned.

The civil rights hero will be moved outside to the top of the East Front Steps of the US Capitol for socially distanced public viewings on Monday evening and Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday.

The ceremonies will begin with an invitation-only arrival event on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

Lewis had died on July 17 after he was diagnosed with stage-4 pancreatic cancer in December last year.

McConnell had hailed Lewis as a “pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism, promote equal rights, and bring our nation into greater alignment with its founding principles.”

“Congressman Lewis’ place among the giants of American history was secured before his career in Congress had even begun,” McConnell said in a statement after Lewis’ passing.

Pelosi described Lewis as “one of the greatest heroes of American history” and “a titan of the civil rights movement whose goodness, faith and bravery transformed our nation.”