Jun 24, 2015

A horse-drawn caisson carried Clementa Pinckney, the revered South Carolina state senator who was slain in his Charleston church, to the Capitol building Wednesday, passing the Confederate flag that has sparked national debate about such symbols.

Legislators stood under the marble columns of the stately neoclassical building, gazing down as hundreds of people escorted Pinckney’s mahogany casket to the rotunda.

Ann Shephard, 65, of Columbia stood in the 90-degree heat in black mourning clothes and holding a black parasol, sobbing as the casket passed the rebel flag. “A cloud has been over me since this happened,” the African American woman said. “I look at it from every angle and it doesn’t make sense to me.” – Tribune reporting

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley looks on as she stands with other lawmakers as South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard prepare to carry the coffin of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: People wait in a long line to enter the Capitol building to pay their respects to church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney who will lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: People wait in a long line to enter the Capitol building to pay their respects to church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney who will lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: As lawmakers, family and friends look on, the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard carry the coffin of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard prepare to carry the coffin of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

: COLUMBIA, SC – JUNE 24: The family of Rev. Clementa Pinckney greets visitors after paying their respects during an open viewing for Pinckney at the South Carolina State House June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the funeral which is set for Friday June 26 at the TD Arena. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: As lawmakers, family and friends follow, the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard carry the coffin of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Pressure is growing in South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag that has flies on the front lawn of its State House in Columbia, also alongside a Confederate war memorial. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (C) watches as the casket holding Emanuel AME Church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney as it arrives at the steps of the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 24, 2015. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Pressure is growing in South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag that has flies on the front lawn of its State House in Columbia, also alongside a Confederate war memorial. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

: Members of the South Carolina State Legislature walk out as the casket of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney arrives at the Statehouse on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Pressure is growing in South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag that has flies on the front lawn of its State House in Columbia, also alongside a Confederate war memorial. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

: As lawmakers, family and friends watch, the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard arrive with the coffin of church pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pinckney at the Statehouse on June 24, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Pinckney was one of nine people killed during a Bible study inside Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Pressure is growing in South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag that has flies on the front lawn of its State House in Columbia, also alongside a Confederate war memorial. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

As Confederate flag flies nearby, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney lies in South Carolina Capitol

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