WASHINGTON, D.C. — After significant bipartisan backlash, President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to cancel the livestream of convicted domestic terrorist Nidal Hasan’s execution and instead move it over to pay-per-view. The decision comes after outrage from both Democrats and Republicans who criticized the initial plan to broadcast the execution live to the public.
Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, was scheduled to be executed at the U.S. military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The move to shift the livestream to pay-per-view has sparked further controversy, with many questioning the ethics and morality of profiting off of a convicted terrorist’s death.
President Trump defended the decision, stating that the pay-per-view option would allow those who wish to witness Hasan’s execution to do so, while also generating revenue that could be used to support victims of terrorism and their families.
The Pentagon has not yet announced when Hasan’s execution will take place or when the pay-per-view broadcast will be available for purchase. Critics have called the move a shameful exploitation of tragedy for profit, while supporters argue that it is a fitting punishment for a heinous criminal.
