Jimmy Carter funeral today with 39th president to be laid to rest in front of each living US leader inside ring of steel

TODAY the world bids farewell to Jimmy Carter inside the ring of steel at the Washington National Cathedral – where each living US leader will be present.

The 39th and longest-living president of the United States peacefully passed away on December 29 aged 100, surrounded by his family after nearly two years in hospice care.

Security measures in Washington DC are expected to be intense as some of the world’s most prominent names will gather to mourn the late former President.

Carter’s funeral has been dubbed the “perfect target for terrorists,” especially following two deadly New Year’s Day attacks, mounting pressure onto security chiefs to secure the event’s perimeter.

It’s expected that a ring of steel with protective fences, armed security guards, bulletproof vests and snipers will be deployed in what has been dubbed a “military operation”.

As the funeral is a National Special Security Event, it is also safe to assume metal detectors and bomb sweeps will be in use to further bolster security.

The state’s Metropolitan Police has listed prohibited items for the event which includes backpacks and bags exceeding size restrictions, drones, laser pointers – and even selfie sticks.

Washington National Cathedral Chief Public Affairs Officer Kevin Eckstrom stressed that, despite their being various moving pieces for such an event, it is expected to be carried out seamlessly.

He told 7 News: “A state funeral here at the National Cathedral makes everything else look [very easy].

“This is an incredibly complex operation. The thing is it is a private family funeral, it is an event of the state, it is a military operation, it is a global media event, and it’s a church service – all of those things all at once.”

The chief compared it to a “puzzle upside-down and backward,” but reassured that such events have been done “a few times” – so they know how to handle it.

The Washington National Cathedral can sit 3,300 people – typically only reaching capacity for presidential funerals like today.

A first funeral service was held for the Democrat in Atlanta on Saturday at the Carter Presidential Center – attracting hundreds of members of the mourning public who paid their respects.

A motorcade also drove through Carter’s small hometown of Plains, stopping by his childhood home before proceeding to Atlanta, via the state capitol, for a public service at the Carter Center.

On Tuesday, the former President’s coffin was flown to the Washington DC area and Carter was transferred from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson.

And today, a solemn funeral service begins at the Washington National Cathedral.

Carter is having a state funeral – a national remembrance occasion marking the life of Americans who made impact contributions to the public.

The last president to receive a state funeral was George HW Bush in 2018.

Biden is delivering the eulogy at Carter’s Washington DC funeral after the the late 39th president asked him to do so in March 2023.

All four living former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, are to be in attendance.

President-elect Trump also attended the Washington service for Republican George HW Bush.

After the ceremonies, Carter will be moved one final time back to Georgia where there will be a private funeral service in his hometown.

This is followed by a private burial at the Carter residence in the evening.

The US federal government is closed today for a national day of mourning, which Biden said in an executive order.

Financial markets are even shut today too, including the New York Stock Exchange.

US flags across the country are flying at half-mast on all federal buildings, and will do so for 30 days.

As fears of a terror attack on the event loom, International security specialist Will Geddes told The Sun that American officials “cannot afford” to allow for another strike at the event, which will have the world’s attention.

“In the wake of the two specific incidents that took place on New Year’s Day it does not come as a huge surprise to the security community,” Geddes said.

“But the significance of it plays havoc certainly in terms of any major events that are going to be taking place in the United States for the foreseeable future, and especially the State funeral for President Jimmy Carter.

“One of the greatest concerns will be that there will be heads of state from various countries from across the world in attendance.

“The US will very much be on the world stage right now, and Al Qaeda and Islamic State know this.

“They also know anything they undertake in the lead up to this funeral, and even perhaps on the day itself, will garnish and gain the world’s attention.

“A globally impactful funeral, by pure simplicity, means it is going to always be an attractive and viable prospect for a terrorist attack.”

PRESIDENT CARTER

Carter served in the White House from 1977 to 1981.

Prior to his presidency, he served as a Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967 and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.

Carter was considered a longshot for the presidency when he announced his presidential campaign in December 1974.

As a dark-horse candidate, Carter was not well-known outside of the home state of Georgia.

However, Carter’s two-year campaign trail paid off when he won the Democratic nomination and narrowly defeated incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford during the 1976 presidential election.

Carter, who entered office in January 1977, took over a nation that was still reeling from the events of the Vietnam War, where approximately 59,000 US troops died on the frontlines.

Two days after being sworn in as president, Carter famously pardoned all the draft evaders from the Vietnam War.

But, his presidency was marred by rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions with foreign adversaries, including the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

Carter’s hopes for reelection eventually crumbled due to the Iran hostage crisis.

On November 4, 1979, a group of militarized Iranian college students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage.

The American public turned on Carter for his soft approach to the crisis, which lasted 444 days.

The hostage crisis paralyzed his presidency and hampered his efforts at a second term.

Carter would eventually lose the 1980 presidential election in a landslide to Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan.

LIFE AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE

After leaving the Oval Office, Carter devoted his life to diplomacy and human rights work. 

He founded the Carter Center in 1982, an organization with a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering, according to their website.

The non-profit has worked to improve the quality of life for people in countries all over the world.

In 2002, Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work seeking peaceful resolutions to global conflicts, advancing human rights and democracy, and promoting economic and social development.

The Carter Center also devoted some resources to ensuring free and fair elections and monitored the 2020 elections in the United States.

Carter had mostly retired from the public eye in recent years, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and a cancer diagnosis in 2015.

In December 2015, Carter was declared cancer-free just months after being diagnosed with the illness.

While Carter lived a more private life in his latter years, he was vocal in his opposition to certain political moves of the presidents who followed him.

He disagreed with Reagan’s handling of peace in the Middle East and was opposed to the Iraq War under George W Bush.

Carter criticized the Trump administration but also disagreed with his fellow Democratic president, Barack Obama, regarding the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists.

On his 96th birthday, the former president was honored with a parade of golf carts and other vehicles by local residents, which he and his wife observed from their residence while wearing masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the 2020 presidential election, Carter endorsed Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention and said via video, “Joe Biden was my first and most effective supporter in the Senate … For decades, he’s been my loyal and dedicated friend.”

To mark his first 100 days in office, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter at their home in Plains, Georgia.

“We sat and talked about the old days,” Biden told reporters afterward.

Jimmy Carter was the longest-lived US president in history, surpassing George HW Bush, who was 94 at the time of his death.