Flags in Tennessee will be flown at full staff on Jan. 20 in honor of Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration, announced Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday.
Flags over the State Capitol and all state buildings will be raised from 11 a.m. on Inauguration Day through sunrise Jan. 21, before returning to half-staff to continue to mourn the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29 in Plains, Georgia.
Lee’s announcement conflicts with President Joe Biden’s proclamation for flags to be flown at half-staff across the United States in honor of the 39th president until sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
In a statement issued Dec. 29, Biden ordered flags across the U.S. to be flown at half-staff “in honor and tribute to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.” and as “an expression of public sorrow.”
Biden ordered the flags at the White House, all public buildings and grounds, all military posts and naval stations, and all naval vessels of the federal government across the country to remain at half staff for a period of 30 days from the day of Carter’s death.
Lee joined countless of others in honoring the former president, stating that Carter and wife Rosalynn Carter “put their faith into action and were an inspiration to many.”
There are certain commemorative days when it is customary to lower the flag to half-staff:
The flag is also lowered for the death of principal figures of the U.S. government and the government of a state, territory or possession, and for tragic events.
According to the U.S. Flag Code, codified by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, flags are to be flown at half-staff on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the federal government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories and possessions for these periods:
For other instances, proclamations will determine the length of time.
On ships and at naval stations ashore, flags are flown at half-mast.
Elsewhere ashore, flags are flown at half-staff.
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana
