By admin 
Family, friends, former staffers and supporters have gathered in Columbia to honor the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in his final trip back to South Carolina.
Read more Live updates: SC’s Lindsey Graham honored in downtown Columbia procession
Graham remains were brought to the State House, where he spent one term as a state representative before his election to Congress.
Following behind was a military honor guard, and Graham’s family led by his sister, U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to finish her brother’s term.
His remains laid on a military caisson, which stopped in front of the George Washington statue for just under 10 minutes. After a flyover by four F-16s to honor his time in the Air Force, the procession began to travel onto Main Street to First Baptist Church.
Along with family, members of Graham’s staff and elected officials including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Attorney General Alan Wilson, and many state lawmakers were outside the State House for the brief ceremony before the funeral.
Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy are slated to give tributes to Graham during the ceremony.
A collection of former staffers and friends are serving as honorary pallbearers: Craig R. Abele , Roy Horton Bailey, III, Kevin Gregory Bauld, Kevin D. Bishop, H. Van Cato, The Honorable C. Saxby Chambliss, Scott C. Farmer, David Hal Garrett, Larry C. Hendrix, Andrew N. King, H. Edward Mercer, III, Oliver Warren Mowry, Richard S. Perry, Danny Lee Pitts, Brian Rousseau Rome, Joseph Jackson Turner, III, and Thomas Douglas Von Kaene served as honorary pallbearers.
Farmer, Graham’s former campaign manager, Fox and Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat, are set to read scripture.
Several hundred mourners came to watch the procession at the State House.
Lisa Gicking, 63, from the Greenville-Spartanburg area, came to pay her respects. She volunteered on Graham’s 2026 campaign. She attended several events where Graham spoke without notes and would answer any question, she said.
Read more SC mayor and high-ranking police officers arrested, SLED says. Here’s why
“He was, and I think will remain the most consequential senator of my lifetime,” Gicking said. “His heart for always doing the right thing, his warmth, kindness, generosity, wittiness. He was like the real deal. He was this really great human.”
But at least one Graham detractor was present.
Elizabeth James carried a sign that had a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who she said should be tried for war crimes over the deaths of Palestinians.
“I don’t want South Carolina to view him as our patron saint,” James said of Graham. “He’s brought us into war, Lindsey Graham, almost solely because of his friendship with (Netanyahu), and people are suffering.
Graham made his final trip between Washington, D.C. and South Carolina Tuesday evening. A private burial in Pickens County, where Graham grew up, will end the two days of memorials.
The senator was honored in the U.S. Capitol rotunda and with a service at the Washington National Cathedral, where President Donald Trump spoke, Tuesday.
Graham died suddenly July 11, two days after his 71st birthday, with a preliminary report indicating he died from an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta— due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
He served in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades, holding powerful leadership roles and allies across the political spectrum. He was also elected to the U.S. House and South Carolina state House and served in the U.S. Air Force for 33 years.
Read more Lexington church wants road closed to the public. SCDOT may let it happen