U.S. President Donald Trump said he would seek the death penalty for people who kill firefighters, extending a policy that until now has covered police officers and other law enforcement personnel. He also dropped a plan to broadcast live the firing-squad execution of a gunman who carried out a mass shooting at a U.S. Army base, after the proposal drew strong public opposition.
Trump laid out the position at a White House luncheon on the 15th for police officers, firefighters and Border Patrol officials, according to Reuters and other foreign media.
"We are strengthening the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers and law enforcement workers," Trump said, adding that he would also ensure the death penalty for anyone who shoots and kills a firefighter responding to a call. He turned to Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was attending the event, to ask directly whether such a step was possible.
On Jan. 20 last year, the day he was inaugurated for a second term, Trump signed an executive order directing prosecutors to seek death sentences for those who kill law enforcement officers. His latest remarks would widen that policy to include the killing of firefighters.
Trump has repeatedly invoked the death penalty in recent comments on crime and national security. At a rally in Arizona the previous day, he claimed that information about U.S. military operations targeting Iran had been leaked in advance and suggested that whoever leaked it should be shot.
Earlier this month, he approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas in 2009.
Hasan, then a major in the U.S. Army, was sentenced to death on charges of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the shooting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later said the execution would be broadcast live, drawing objections from human rights groups and others.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the execution of Hasan would go ahead as scheduled on Dec. 3 but would not be broadcast live. He added that immediate family members of the victims would be allowed to witness the execution in person if they wished.
Trump had initially judged that making the execution public would serve as a warning and a deterrent to terrorists. He took into account, however, that a significant share of the public did not want to watch an execution.
The decision came shortly after the release of a poll conducted jointly by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos. In the survey, 53% of respondents said they supported carrying out the firing-squad execution of Hasan, against 42% who opposed it. But 80% said they were against broadcasting the execution live.
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse analyzed that Trump had pulled back the live-broadcast plan in response to bipartisan opposition in Congress and negative public opinion. With the U.S. midterm elections less than 20 days away, analysts said he may also have sought to avoid an unnecessary political controversy.
