BREAKING: Mike Johnson Rejects Request for Rev. Jesse Jackson to Lie in Honor at U.S. Capitol, Citing Precedent.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has denied a request from the family of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson to allow the civil rights leader to lie in honor at the United States Capitol Rotunda, citing past precedent about how the space has been used for memorials.
Jackson, a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement who died this week at the age of 84, had been the subject of a formal request from his family and several House Democrats to hold a commemorative ceremony in the Capitol. But Johnson’s office said the honor is generally reserved for “former presidents, military leaders and select officials,” and that past decisions informed the rejection.
Though rare, private citizens have been previously allowed to lie in honor in the Capitol. Notable examples include civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda in 2005, and evangelical leader Rev. Billy Graham, who received the same honor in 2018.
Jackson’s family has said they are moving forward with memorial services in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina. Final services are scheduled in Chicago for March 6–7.
If Rosa Parks and Billy Graham were worthy of the Rotunda, denying that same dignity to Jesse Jackson says far more about Mike Johnson’s politics than it does about precedent.
SHAME on you, Mike Johnson!