Eagles of Death Metal Singer Forgives Killers From 2015 Paris Terrorist Attack (Video)
Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes says he has forgiven the members of the extremist group who stormed their show at the Bataclan in a coordinated Paris attack that killed 130 people – just moments after giving his emotional testimony against them.
Hughes and EODM guitarist Eden Galindo are in Paris to testify as civil parties in a French court. The California band was onstage when gunmen stormed their Bataclan theater concert, cafes and the national stadium in 2015.
Most of the attackers blew themselves up or were killed. The sole surviving member has been in court for the sweeping trial, and though defiant and erratic on the stand, he broke down last week, expressing remorse for the victims and asking for forgiveness, The Associated Press reported.
Even after a full day of grueling testimony against him, Hughes was ready to offer just that.
“Yeah. It’s important to forgive,” he told a reporter outside court. “I’m a Christian. And … everyone can be lost, and everyone needs to find a way. And most of those gentlemen in there do. So, I forgive them, and I hope they find the peace of God for themselves.”
Watch video of his remarks below:
Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes speaks of forgiveness, as he leaves a Paris court where he testified about the attacks at the band’s Bataclan theater concert in November 2015. pic.twitter.com/uur21mFVHZ
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) May 17, 2022
On the stand, Hughes said he “knew death was upon us” when he heard gunfire in the concert hall, the AP reported. He and Galindo described a desperate scramble to escape, while “nearly 90 of my friends were murdered in front of us.”
The trial is expected to continue until late summer.
