Convicted ringleader in Texas dragging death to be executed

A man who orchestrated one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history faces execution in Texas.

John William King is scheduled for lethal injection Wednesday evening in the June 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr., a black man from East Texas.

The 44-year-old King, who is white and an avowed racist, was put on death row for chaining Byrd to the back of a truck and dragging his body along a secluded road outside Jasper, Texas. Prosecutors said Byrd was targeted because he was black.

In this Wednesday, April 10, 2019, photo Mylinda Byrd Washington, 66, left, and Louvon Byrd Harris, 61, hold up photographs of their brother James Byrd Jr. in Houston. James Byrd Jr. was the victim of what is considered to be one of the most gruesome hate crime murders in recent Texas history. (AP PhotoJuan Lozano)

The hate crime put a national spotlight on Jasper, which was branded with a racist stigma it has tried to shake off ever since.

King would be the second man executed in the case. A third man received a life sentence.

This April 12, 2019, photo shows the gravesite of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. Byrd was killed on June 7, 1998, after he was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for nearly three miles along a secluded road in the piney woods outside Jasper in what is considered one of the most gruesome hate crime murders in recent Texas history. (AP PhotoJuan Lozano)

This April 12, 2019, photo shows a section of Huff Creek Road in Jasper, Texas, where James Byrd Jr., who was black, was dragged to death by three white men in what is considered one of the most gruesome hate crime murders in recent Texas history. John William King, the convicted ringleader of Byrd's death, is set to be executed on Wednesday, April. 24, 2019. (AP PhotoJuan Lozano)

This April 12, 2019, photo shows a bench donated by a foundation started by the family of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. The bench is located in front of the county courthouse in Jasper, Texas, where two of the three men convicted for Byrd's death, considered one of the most gruesome hate crime murders in recent Texas history, were tried. John William King, the convicted ringleader of Byrd's death, is set to be executed on Wednesday, April. 24, 2019. (AP PhotoJuan Lozano)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar have been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a U.S. official said. The decision came as a senior official in Iran brought up an earlier Iranian attack there.

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, described the move at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precautionary measure. The official wouldn’t go into any further details about the move, including whether the evacuation was optional or mandatory, if it affected troops or civilian personnel, or the number of those advised to leave, citing the need for operational security.

In response, Qatar said Wednesday that such measures were being “undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”

“The IMO reaffirms that the State of Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents as a top priority, including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” Qatar’s media office said in a post on X.

The Pentagon declined to comment on questions about the move. The State Department had no immediate comment on the potential for any security alerts to be issued for American diplomats or other civilians in Qatar. In June, the embassy had issued a brief shelter-in-place advisory to U.S. citizens in Doha but stopped short of evacuating diplomats or advising Americans to leave the country.

The precautionary measure comes as anti-government protests in nearby Iran continue and President Donald Trump has said that he is willing to conduct military operations in the country if the government continues to retaliate against the protesters.

The base, which hosts thousands of U.S. service members, was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the social platform X wrote “the #US President, who repeatedly talks about the futile aggression against #Iran’s nuclear facilities, would do well to also mention the destruction of the US base in #Al-Udeid by Iranian missiles.”

“It would certainly help create a real understanding of Iran’s will and ability to respond to any aggression,” he added.

Iranian and Qatari officials had spoken on Tuesday amid the deadly crackdown in Iran and America’s escalating threats to intervene if protesters are not spared.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had a phone call with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.

In a statement on X, Al Thani said that he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”

Iran’s decision in June to retaliate against U.S. strikes by targeting the sprawling desert facility outside Doha created a rare tension between the two maritime neighbors, with Qatari officials saying it caught them by surprise.

No American or Qatari personnel were harmed, the U.S. military’s Central Command said at the time, noting that the two forces worked together to defend the base. A Qatari military officer said one of 19 missiles fired by Iran was not intercepted and hit the base, but the Republican U.S. president said in a social media post at the time that “hardly any damage was done.”

The Gulf state has been caught in the crossfire of other regional tensions, including an Israeli strike in September on the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha while the group’s top figures had been gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Amiri reported from New York.

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

A woman cries as members of the Iranian community stage a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)