US Mother Who Helped Free Son From Venezuelan Jail Praised

US Mother Who Helped Free Son From Venezuelan Jail Praised
Laurie Holt holds a photograph of her son Joshua Holt at her home in Riverton, Utah on Jully 13, 2016. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File
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SALT LAKE CITY—The family and friends of a Utah woman who spent nearly two years pushing to get her son freed from a Venezuelan jail was remembered for her fearlessness and determination at her funeral Feb. 16.

The 50-year-old Laurie Holt died unexpectedly Feb. 10 at her Riverton, Utah, home, less than one year after her son Josh Holt returned to the U.S. after being imprisoned for nearly two years on weapons charges that the Holts and U.S. politicians said were invented. Laurie Holt’s husband says she died peacefully but the family has not said what caused her death.