The vans carrying media witnesses drove by a small crowd of demonstrators moments ago. Unless there's some new obstacle or delay, the next stop is likely the federal execution chamber. If so, U.S. agents will soon move to kill Montgomery with an overdose of pentobarbital.

I won't be in the room. For the first time since the Trump administration's execution spree began, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons rejected our requests to send a representative to witness the execution on behalf of Indiana public radio and NPR newscast listeners.

I've witnessed four of the five most recent federal executions, which are all carried out in Terre Haute. My colleague @AdamPinsker has endured six. We both believe it's necessary to see exactly what happens when the government decides to take the life of one of its own citizens.

By withholding press credentials, the prison bureau is effectively taking away the ability of untold numbers of listeners to hear directly from journalists they trust about consequential events happening in their backyards, and in their names.

And they aren't the only ones. @LilianaSegura, arguably the best and most informed journalist covering U.S. prisons, has never received full access to the executions. I also know of two Indiana newspaper reporters and a documentary filmmaker shut out of the group this time.

The prison bureau may argue that space is limited. Even if that's true, anyone who's been inside the death chamber knows there's a huge camera mounted to the ceiling. Prison officials could broadcast the execution to a larger group. They did once, in 2001.

But that wouldn't have been necessary tonight: In the room for media witnesses, I noticed name cards set out for six people - the same number of witnesses who attended the last execution, of Alfred Bourgeois, last month. (It was a mess.) https://twitter.com/georgehale/status/1339343772463849472?s=19

According to bureau policy, 10 spots are reserved for media. But tonight, they decided to fill only half of them despite high demand. They also kept reporters who cover executions full time, and know what they're looking for (see above), out of the room. Why?

I have no doubt we'll continue to pursue this story against all obstacles until the executions end. Tonight, however, we're waiting outside the prison, anxious to learn what's happening inside to Lisa Montgomery. For the first time since all this began, we're not going to know.