Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas, has publicly backed the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the livestream plan Thursday. Hasan's execution is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, according to CBS News Texas.
"Capital punishment is commanded by God in Genesis 9:6 to remind people of the sanctity of human life," Jeffress wrote in a Facebook post. "The more people that can see that truth illustrated through a public execution, the better." His post tagged Hegseth and the U.S. Department of War.
Hegseth described the plan in an interview on Real America's Voice with host Jack Posobiec. "He's gonna get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be," Hegseth said. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Not everyone expects the broadcast to happen. Vice President JD Vance questioned the plan on Friday. "I don't know that that's actually going to happen," Vance said, adding that he would not watch if it were broadcast.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood's soldier readiness center, killing 13 people and wounding 32. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu Akbar" and fired more than 140 rounds at soldiers who were getting ready to deploy.
