Trump drops livestream of Fort Hood execution after religious backlash
Catholic, evangelical, Episcopal, Jewish and Methodist leaders objected to the Pentagon plan. They disagreed among themselves on public executions.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday that Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad as scheduled, but the event will not be streamed. The Fort Hood gunman killed 13 people in 2009. His execution is set for Dec. 3. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Oct. 8 that the public could watch. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, called the plan a barbaric promotion of a culture of death. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who leads the Catholic military archdiocese, told Catholic soldiers assigned to the firing squad to ask to be excused. The National Association of Evangelicals also objected. Pope Leo XIV posted that the death penalty is inadmissible. Some Christians backed a public execution, including Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress, who cited Genesis. A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll found large majorities of every major religious group opposed the livestream, from 74% of white evangelicals to 88% of Black Protestants.
Why it mattersThe episode shows Christian leaders splitting over capital punishment and the state's use of spectacle, including among the administration's religious supporters.
