Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes Testifies in Bataclan Attack Case: ‘It’s Important to Forgive’

The Eagles of Death Metal testified today (May 17) about the tragedy that occurred during one of their concerts in 2015. Terrorists killed 89 people at Le Bataclan and the attack was a part of a coordinated series of attacks in Paris.

Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes and guitar tech Eden Galindo were both onstage when the Islamic State group of terrorists entered the theater and sprayed it with gunfire. A soccer stadium and cafes were also targeted and a total of 130 people in total were killed during the attacks.

The Washington Post reports that during Hughes' emotional testimony, he told the court how he prays for the victims' families every day. Ever since the attack, he says, "I live a different life. I'll never be the same."

When the guitarist was asked if he was ready to forgive the sole surviving member of the terrorist group (the other attackers were killed by police or blew themselves up), he said,  "Yeah. It's important to forgive. 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."

Hughes described what happened during the attack to the court, and immediately recognized the sound of gunshots and "knew that death was coming." He concluded his testimony by quoting Ozzy Osbourne, "You can't kill rock 'n' roll! You can't kill rock 'n' roll!".

The trial started in September and is expected to wrap up next month, according to The Washington Post. We hope that the results of the trial will give the survivors and the victims' families some peace and closure.