Texas pastor and media executive Joel Webbon publicly called for the execution of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, pairing the ambassador’s photograph with that of a convicted mass murderer and describing Huckabee as a traitor and religious heretic. Webbon subsequently qualified his remarks by insisting that any execution should follow a fair trial, but his media company later published a lengthy defense of executing Huckabee and his senior aide David Milstein.
“Publicly televised executions?” Webbon wrote in a post highlighted on X over the weekend. “Sure.”
“But let’s kill two birds with one stone,” he continued. Webbon accused Huckabee of concealing information concerning Christian churches in Israel and Americans allegedly killed by Israel, before describing him as “a traitor” and a “‘Judeo-Christian’ heretic.”
The post included side-by-side photographs of Huckabee and Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of murdering 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. The Pentagon recently announced plans to livestream Hasan’s scheduled execution, a proposal that has prompted criticism from religious leaders and elected officials. Writer Joel Berry publicized Webbon’s remarks, stating that the pastor had called for Huckabee’s public execution.
A Subsequent Qualification, Not a Retraction
Following considerable pushback to his initial post, Webbon appeared to temper his remarks, adding: “Only after a fair trial, of course.”
However, Webbon did not withdraw his demand for Huckabee’s execution or retract his accusations against the ambassador. Later on Webbon’s media company NXR Studios published an article titled “Mike Huckabee, Treason, and the Necessity of Swift Justice.”
The publication argued that both Huckabee and Milstein should be investigated, prosecuted and executed if convicted. Neither man has been charged or even investigated for treason or any criminal offense in the context Webbon was discussing. The controversy followed an October 8 New York Times investigation alleging that Milstein had blocked or altered diplomatic reporting concerning Israeli government actions. Huckabee categorically rejected the newspaper’s allegations.
The initial demand prompted criticism from prominent conservatives. Texas Senator Ted Cruz responded, “This…is…sick.” Conservative broadcaster Mark Levin, Milstein’s step-father, accused Webbon of threatening Huckabee and Milstein and called for law enforcement action against those inciting deadly violence.
NXR’s subsequent article attacked Berry, Cruz and Levin for their criticism. It also repeatedly invoked Levin’s Jewish identity, described him as a “Chabad Jew,” and advanced sweeping accusations about Jews and Israel.
A Record of Controversial Statements
Webbon is the pastor of Covenant Bible Church in Georgetown, Texas, and a principal of NXR Studios, short for New Christian Right. The for-profit media operation has developed a substantial online audience.
A September Religion News Service investigation reported that NXR’s YouTube channel had approximately 187,000 subscribers and more than 20 million cumulative views. The publication documented the platform’s promotion of antisemitic and white nationalist ideas, although Webbon disputed its characterization of his content as promoting white supremacy.
The remarks about Huckabee are not Webbon’s first public endorsement of executions. In a 2024 sermon, Webbon suggested that publicly executing women found guilty of making false sexual assault accusations would quickly discourage such claims. “All you have to do is publicly execute a few women who have lied,” he declared.
Preparing a Controversial Texas Conference
The latest controversy comes as Webbon’s company prepares to host “Christ Is King: America After Trump,” a three-day conference scheduled for November 12–14 at the city-owned Irving Convention Center near Dallas.
A July Crosscurrents investigation documented the event’s controversial speaker lineup, including Dale Partridge, who has advocated repealing women’s voting rights, and pastors Brian Sauvé and Eric Conn, whose previous conference drew scrutiny after a vendor sold Nazi propaganda.
Since that investigation, NXR’s official lineup has expanded to include conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, scheduled to deliver the opening keynote, and Buckley Carlson, the brother of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Another scheduled speaker, NXR host Harrison Smith, read aloud a social media commentator’s demand for Huckabee and Milstein to be prosecuted for treason and executed if convicted during an October 9 broadcast. The program also promoted NXR’s upcoming conference. The other speakers’ scheduled participation does not establish that they endorse Webbon’s execution demand.
The conference will open with an address by Webbon advertised as his “Manifesto,” followed by Jones’s keynote. The controversy surrounding Webbon’s remarks has therefore emerged just weeks before an event intended to bring together his media company’s speakers and supporters. His subsequent reference to a fair trial did not amount to a retraction, and NXR’s October 11 publication made clear that the demand for the execution of Huckabee and Milstein remained part of its public position.