US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the upcoming execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will not be broadcast to the public via a live stream.
The decision follows plans announced by the Pentagon to stream the execution, which sparked widespread bipartisan criticism and public backlash. Hasan, a former US Army Major, was convicted for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, which left 13 people dead and 32 others injured.
In a statement posted on social media, Donald Trump described Hasan as a traitor and detailed the rationale behind removing the livestreaming element of the penalty.
“Nidal Malik Hasan, a former U.S. Army Major turned traitor, is a very bad and evil man, who killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, who died, along with her unborn son, and injured, very seriously, 32 more innocent people,” Trump stated.
Addressing the former intelligence assessments surrounding Hasan’s radicalisation prior to the attack, Trump highlighted earlier communications intercepted by federal authorities.
“Barack Hussein Obama’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted electronic communications between Hasan and the radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki. When reviewed by his FBI terrorism task force, investigators concluded that Hasan’s emails were not a threat. This assessment of the Obama Administration’s actions was later considered to be a key intelligence failure,” he wrote.
Whilst defending the idea of public broadcasting as a potential warning to hostile actors, the US President acknowledged that many citizens expressed deep discomfort with the concept of airing the event.
“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,” Trump stated.
He confirmed that while the public will not be able to watch the proceeding on screens, the sentence itself remains unchanged and will be carried out by firing squad as planned, with access granted to victims’ relatives.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed. That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump concluded.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
