WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, leading a Pentagon prayer meeting, quoted a fictional bible verse taken from a violent monologue in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” originally delivered by actor Samuel L. Jackson just before his character shoots a helpless man to death.

The secretary used the prayer to frame the war in Iran as an act of divine justice, the same justification Jackson’s character cites in the film before pulling the trigger.

Hegseth told the audience at a monthly Pentagon worship service held Wednesday that he learned the prayer from the lead mission planner of a team called “Sandy 1,” which recently rescued downed Air Force crew members in Iran.

Hegseth said the verse is frequently spoken by combat search-and-rescue crews, who call the prayer “CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17” from the Bible.

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother,” Hegseth recited. “And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

The infamous Ezekiel 25:17 speech from “Pulp Fiction” is almost entirely a screenwriter’s creation; only the final refrain is loosely inspired by the actual biblical verse. The majority of the monologue in Tarantino’s film is adapted from the opening of the 1976 Japanese martial arts film “The Bodyguard,” with action star Sonny Chiba.

Hegseth’s minute-long prayer closely followed those scripts, with only the last two lines resembling language from the Bible. In Hegseth’s version, he replaced “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” from the book of Ezekiel with the call sign for a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said some outlets accused Hegseth of mistaking Jackson’s Golden Globe-winning performance with actual scripture, and called that narrative “fake news.”

“Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction,” Parnell wrote on X. “However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.”

“Pulp Fiction” co-writer Roger Avary, who shared the Academy Award for Original Screenplay with Tarantino, weighed in Thursday, posting on X: “I am perfectly fine with @SecWar
quoting Jules in Pulp Fiction if it keeps bullets from hitting our soldiers.”

Hegseth has frequently used his prayer sessions to call for violence in the ongoing Iran war. In last month’s sermon, he asked God to “grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence.”

The services are not mandatory, a senior defense analyst with knowledge of Pentagon operations told The Times, but some who work closely with Hegseth’s office feel an “implied pressure” to attend and “fill seats.”

The effect — some feel — is less attention on the Pentagon’s wartime efforts, and more on supporting political stunts, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.

“We have managers and leaders that are missing mission critical work to go listen to ‘Pulp Fiction’ quotes,” the source said. “It delays our ability to make operational, mission related war-fighting decisions.”

The prayer came amid an ongoing clash between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV, who has spoken out in recent weeks against the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Statements from the Vatican were met with a series of reprisals from President Trump, who said he doesn’t “want a pope” who criticizes the president of the United States.

On Thursday, the pope released a statement against military leaders who conflate war with divinity.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” he said.

The federal Commission of Fine Arts is set on Thursday to review plans for a hulking 250-foot “triumphal arch” to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, one of several construction projects President Trump has conjured up in an effort to leave his aesthetic mark on Washington.

Mr. Trump has reason to be optimistic about the fate of the review: He fired all of the panel’s members in October and replaced them with his allies.

His intention is for the arch to rise up from a roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. The design prominently features the heavy gold embellishments that have come to be known as a signature Trump style.

The proposed arch, whose cost the administration has not released, carries the feel of a Trump design for another reason: It is simply massive.

Though it is loosely modeled on the Arc de Triomphe, the neoclassical monument in Paris commissioned by Napoleon, the arch Mr. Trump proposes would dwarf that by some 86 feet.

In fact, the proposed arch would be taller than nearly every other monumental arch across the United States and across the world. Here’s a sampling:

Many of the world’s monumental arches are war memorials, such as New Delhi’s India Gate and New York City’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch. Some commemorate revolutions, like Mexico City’s Monumento a la Revolución, and others, like Lisbon’s Rua Augusta Arch, symbolize the strength of a people.

Asked in October who the proposed Washington arch would be for, Mr. Trump responded, “Me.”

If built as planned, the arch would remake Washington’s landscape. Its proposed location means it would be in full view when entering or leaving the capital via the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Its proposed height means it would be taller than the Lincoln Memorial and nearly as tall as the U.S. Capitol building.

The White House expects to complete construction before the end of Mr. Trump’s term. But questions remain on how the arch would be built, including who would pay for it.

It remains possible that, like Mr. Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, the proposed arch could get caught up in a legal quagmire.

A group of Vietnam War veterans, as well as an architectural historian, have sued in federal court to stop its construction. The lawsuit argues that the arch would require congressional approval under various statutes, including the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, which dictates that a memorial built in the proposed location must be of “pre-eminent historical and lasting significance to the United States.”

Several congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief in support of that lawsuit in March. Washington, the brief states, “is not the President’s backyard to renovate, relandscape, and build in as he sees fit.”

Maine is on the verge of becoming the first state in the nation to slam the brakes on energy-hungry AI data centers, as lawmakers push back against tech giants over fears of higher power bills, strained grids and environmental impact.

The measure, now headed to Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, would pause approvals for data centers requiring more than 20 megawatts of power until October 2027, while a state-appointed council studies their impact on the power grid, energy bills and the environment.

The legislation passed the state’s Democrat-controlled House 79-62 and Senate 21-13, marking one of the most aggressive moves yet against the rapid expansion of data centers tied to artificial intelligence and Big Tech.

Supporters say the pause is needed to protect residents from the massive energy demands of so-called “hyperscale” facilities, which can consume as much electricity as small cities.

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“It’s not that there’s no place for data centers in Maine,” Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the measure, told The Associated Press. “Frankly, the tradeoffs have not been shown to be of benefit to our ratepayers, water usage or community benefit in terms of economic activity.”

Opposition to data centers has been building nationwide as communities raise alarms about strain on power grids, higher electricity bills and heavy water use. Analysts have warned that parts of the U.S. grid could face reliability issues in the coming years if demand continues to surge.

In February, Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a bill aimed at ensuring the electricity costs of data centers are not passed on to American consumers.

At least 11 other states are considering restrictions like Maine’s, but Maine’s bill is the first to pass both legislative chambers, potentially setting a precedent.

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Critics argue the move could drive away investment and jobs.

“We think that these data centers could bring good jobs, good opportunities to these regions,” Montana Towers, a policy analyst with the free market Maine Policy Institute, told the AP. “And a lot of these concerns about them are luddite in nature.”

The Trump administration has backed data center expansion as critical to competing with China in artificial intelligence, even as it recently pushed tech companies to commit to covering the cost of new power generation needed to run their facilities.

Mills has not said whether she will sign the bill, though she has sought an exemption for a smaller project already underway that would reuse existing infrastructure.

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If enacted, Maine’s moratorium would serve as a test case for how states balance economic growth against the mounting energy demands of the AI boom.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.