Dozens gather at Florida church for Hulk Hogan's funeral service

LARGO, Fla. (AP) — Dozens of people gathered Tuesday evening at a funeral service for famed wrestler Hulk Hogan, who died last month at 71.

The private service was held at the same church where Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was baptized in 2023.

He died after suffering a heart attack July 24 at his home in Clearwater, according to the Pinellas County medical examiner.

Hogan previously had leukemia and atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, the examiner's report said. His death was declared to be natural.

The service was heavily patrolled by church security and Largo police officers, including K-9 dogs. Anyone not on the guest list was turned away near signs that read, “Private Event.”

President Donald Trump posted a photo on his Truth Social platform showing him arm wrestling Hogan, saying, “They are having the ‘Hulkster’s’ funeral today, and I thought everybody would enjoy seeing this picture.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags flown at half-staff at all official buildings last Friday, which he declared “Hulk Hogan Day in Florida.”

Hogan was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history, known for both his larger-than-life personality and his in-ring exploits. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including “Hogan Knows Best,” a reality show about his life on VH1.

Hogan's body will be cremated.

His daughter Brooke Bollea Oleksy, better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, memorialized her father in a recent social media post.

“I am so grateful I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens,” she wrote on Instagram.

Guests arrive for a memorial service to honor Terry Bollea, better know as wrestler Hulk Hogan, at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The exterior of Indian Rocks Baptist Church where Terry Bollea's, better known as wrester Hulk Hogan, funeral services were held, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A hearse containing the remains of Terry Bollea, better know as wrestler Hulk Hogan, leaves after a memorial service at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

FILE - Hulk Hogan attends the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment 2015 Upfront at The Jacob Javits Center, May 14, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan poses for photographers, March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - in this April 3, 2005, file photo, Hulk Hogan fires up the crowd between matches during WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

FILE - Professional entertainer and wrestler, Hulk Hogan, speaks during the Republican National Convention, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Hulk Hogan, right, and his son Nicholas, left, wife Linda and daughter Brooke arrive at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, Aug. 31, 2006. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, File)

Guests arrive for a memorial service to honor Terry Bollea, better know as wrestler Hulk Hogan, at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The exterior of Indian Rocks Baptist Church where Terry Bollea's, better known as wrester Hulk Hogan, funeral services were held, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A hearse containing the remains of Terry Bollea, better know as wrestler Hulk Hogan, leaves after a memorial service at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Largo, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

FILE - Hulk Hogan attends the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment 2015 Upfront at The Jacob Javits Center, May 14, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan poses for photographers, March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)