United States President Donald Trump has said that the execution of a man who killed several military personnel at the Fort Hood military base in 2009 will not be livestreamed.
The statement on Thursday represented a reversal for the administration, with the Pentagon saying last week the execution would be livestreamed and Trump saying he “absolutely” supported the plan. The public killing would have been the first of its kind in the US since 1936, with successive administrations criticising foreign governments for conducting such executions.
In his post, Trump called the convicted gunman, Nidal Malik Hasan, a “very bad and evil man”. He also accused the administration of former President Barack Obama of an “intelligence failure” ahead of the attack in Texas, which killed 13.
“With all of that being said, I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” the US president wrote.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump said, adding that immediate family members of victims would be able to view the execution.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had announced last week that the execution would be “public”.
He added that the execution would take place on December 3 at 1pm US Central Time (18:00 GMT), the same time that the 2009 shooting took place.
The announcement was met with condemnation from some lawmakers, including members of Trump’s own Republican Party.–BBC
