US Capitol Officer Billy Evans to Lie in Honor in Capitol Rotunda

U.S. Capitol Police officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran who was a member of the department's first responders unit, was killed on April 2, 2021. U.S. Capitol Police via AP

The U.S. Capitol Police officer who was killed on Good Friday while guarding the governmental building will be honored at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington next week, congressional leaders announced Tuesday.

“The United States Congress joins all Americans in mourning the tragic death of one of our Capitol Police heroes, Officer Billy Evans,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a Tuesday press release.

“In giving his life to protect our Capitol and our Country, Officer Evans became a martyr for our democracy,” they said. “On behalf of the entire Congress, we are profoundly grateful.”

Evans, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police force and member of the department’s first responders unit, was 41 years old and died from injuries he sustained on April 2 when Noah Green, 25, rammed a blue car into him and another officer at a barricade outside the Capitol.

Police fatally shot Green when he purportedly emerged from the vehicle holding a knife and ran toward the officers.

The second officer struck by Green’s vehicle was rushed to the hospital with injuries. He reportedly was released again from the hospital on Saturday.

Pelosi and Schumer announced on Tuesday the arrangements to honor Evans at the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) walk on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 20, 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The ceremonial arrival will take place at 10:30 a.m. on April 13 at the East Front of the U.S. Capitol, which will be followed by a congressional tribute 30 minutes afterward.

Those allowed to attend the event will be limited to guests only due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, officials said.

A viewing period for members of the U.S. Capitol Police force, as well as members of Congress, will follow before the 6:30 p.m. departure ceremony at the Capitol.

“It is now the great and solemn privilege of the House of Representatives and the Senate to convey the appreciation and the sadness of the Congress and Country for the heroic sacrifice of Officer Evans with a lying-in-honor ceremony in the U.S. Capitol,” Pelosi and Schumer continued in the release.

“It is our hope that this tribute will be a comfort to the family of Officer Evans, particularly his children Logan and Abigail, as will the knowledge that so many Americans mourn with and pray for them at this sad time,” they said.

The American flag at the U.S. Capitol is lowered to half-staff in honor of Capitol Police officer William Evans who was killed after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 2, 2021. Alex Brandon/ AP Photo

President Joe Biden said in a statement after the attack he has ordered the White House flag to be lowered to half-staff, and expressed condolences to Evans’s family.

Lying in honor in the United States is a rare event that can be authorized by congressional leaders in which the coffin with the body of an official is placed in the state-building to allow the public to pay their respects.

Evans will be the fourth Capitol officer to lie in honor in U.S. history.

From NTD News