WASHINGTON — Mourners waited in line for about two hours for a chance to file past the casket of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the trailblazing equal rights attorney who later became one of the most recognizable members of the High Court.
Bridget Miliacca drove from Milwaukee to Hobart, Ind., then hopped in the car with friend Rhiannon Davis to make the overnight road trip. They arrived Wednesday morning and joined the queue for a chance to see Ginsburg’s flap-draped coffin up close.
“She has been a personal hero of mine,” Davis said. “And to lose that has been momentus. I needed to be here just to say, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye.’”
Ginsburg died on Friday. She was 87.
Davis and Miliacca drew attention of their own because they wore masks specially made by a friend for the occasion. Their black face coverings had light-blue lace sewn over the mouth, mimicking the collars that Ginsburg often wore with her judicial robes.
Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were among the dignitaries spotted visiting Ginsburg on Wednesday.
Prior to the public viewing, Ginsburg’s colleagues, friends and family gathered for a private ceremony. Afterward, the justice’s former law clerks helped escort the coffin to its post at the top of the building’s front steps where it was surrounded by white flowers.
Ginsburg’s casket was displayed atop the Lincoln catafalque, a platform built to accommodate President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. It was most recently used in July during memorial services for Congressman John Lewis.
Ginsburg’s public viewing will continue today until 10 p.m.
She will lie in state in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on Friday, becoming the first woman in history. It is not open to the public.
Rosa Parks was the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol, but because she was not an elected official she does not have designation of lying in state. Lewis, in July, became the first Black person to lie in state.
Ginsburg will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery next week during a private ceremony.
President Donald Trump said he will nominate a new Supreme Court justice on Saturday. Senate Republicans said they would like to move quickly to confirm the nominee.
The AJC live streamed from outside the Supreme Court during Ginsburg’s public viewing on Wednesday. Watch the replay:
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