Trump cancels Pentagon plans to livestream firing squad execution
8 in 10 Americans opposed the Pentagon's plans, a Thursday poll showed.
8 in 10 Americans opposed the Pentagon's plans, a Thursday poll showed.
The short version
- 8 in 10 Americans opposed the Pentagon’s plans, a Thursday poll showed.
- On Thursday, Donald Trump called off the Pentagon’s highly controversial plans to livestream a firing squad execution that is still on schedule for December 3.
- Trump supports the execution of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood.
What happened
But sources close to Trump told CNN that the president was blindsided last week when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the event—which is the first US execution of a soldier since World War II—would be livestreamed. Backlash to the livestream was immediate and crossed political divides.
Why it matters
On the morning Trump canceled the plans, an ABC News poll found 8 in 10 Americans were against the livestream, including a 55 percent majority of MAGA Republicans.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.