Newly inaugurated Gov. Mike Kehoe has ordered flags to fly at full-staff across the state on Monday in honor of Inauguration Day.
Flags were ordered to fly at half-staff for 30 days after former President Jimmy Carter’s death in late December; the proclamation from President Joe Biden, based on U.S. flag code, ordered flags be lowered until Jan. 28.
Flying flags at half-staff signals the country is in mourning.
Kehoe called his Wednesday executive order an “act of respect and patriotism” in a news release.
The move follows a similar order from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to raise flags at the Texas Capitol and state buildings to full staff on the day President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson also ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol be flown at full-staff on Monday.
Kehoe said in the news release that his order aligns with a part of the federal flag code stating that flags should be displayed prominently on Inauguration Day.
“While Missouri continues to mourn the passing of former President Jimmy Carter and remembers his remarkable legacy of service to our nation by displaying our flags at half-staff, we will also celebrate the promise of a new chapter for our country and the opportunities that lie ahead,” Kehoe said in the news release. “To commemorate the democratic transition of power, I have directed all flags to be raised to full-staff for the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”
Kehoe’s executive order applies to flags at the Capitol and on state buildings.