Soldier killed in Niger ambush laid to rest in Florida

Loved ones gathered in south Florida to honor Army Sgt. La David Johnson on Saturday, a little over two weeks after he was killed on patrol in Niger. 

Roughly 1,000 people attended a private service for Johnson at Christ the Rock Community Church in Cooper City, before the soldier was laid to rest in Hollywood Memorial Gardens, according to CNN. 

Johnson leaves behind two small children and his wife Myeshia, who is six months pregnant.  

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered flags across the state to be flown at half-staff on Friday. 

Johnson and three other soldiers were killed in an ambush earlier this month in Niger by suspected self-radicalized Islamic militants. 

The Pentagon confirmed Johnson had been killed in the ambush days after the attack was reported. 

{mosads}The fallen soldier and his family became the center of a public firestorm between the Trump administration and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) after the congresswoman revealed to various news outlets that she overheard Trump tell the widow of Johnson that her late husband “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens it hurts anyway.”

Trump slammed Wilson in a tweet on Saturday, but he has not yet tweeted about Johnson being laid to rest.