A handful of Republican lawmakers joined Democrats on Friday in criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to livestream the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead and 32 wounded.
Representative Austin Scott of Georgia called the idea "beyond disgusting," comparing livestreamed executions to tactics used by jihadists and authoritarian regimes. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina echoed the sentiment, writing that public executions are what "oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do." Even Vice President JD Vance expressed skepticism, telling reporters he was unsure the broadcast would actually occur.
The Pentagon announced that Hasan's execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 by firing squad, marking the military's first execution by that method since World War II and its first execution of any kind since 1961. Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013, and Donald Trump approved the execution this week.
Republican lawmakers, already facing voter discontent ahead of midterm elections, struggled to distance themselves from Hegseth's stance. Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr. of Pennsylvania wrote that "an execution shouldn't be a live-streamed spectacle," while Senator John Curtis of Utah invoked Seneca to warn that cultivating "an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment" risks eroding civilization.
Democrats condemned the move as a "barbaric spectacle," with Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island accusing Hegseth of staging a publicity stunt that would grant Hasan the martyrdom he sought.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing