War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he stands behind President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the livestreamed execution by firing squad of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.
Hegseth announced earlier this month that the execution would be broadcast, but the decision was met with fierce backlash as some critics argued putting Hasan’s death on display could risk making him a martyr. Tuesday marks the first time the war secretary has addressed the president’s decision to axe the livestream.
“I agree with the president,” Hegseth told reporters in Wisconsin. “We spoke about it at length positively. We both recognize that death by firing squad is what Nidal Hasan, a terrorist, a traitor, deserves. He will get that. The families will observe it. And the point is, there’s a deterrent effect to that also, which follows through whether it’s livestreamed or not. So, I fully support the president’s approach.”
Trump, who had said he would make the final decision on livestreaming Hasan’s death, announced Thursday that the Pentagon would not broadcast the execution.
The president said that while he thinks making Hasan’s execution by firing squad available to the greater public could act as a deterrent for anyone inspired by his crimes, “many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die.” He said the execution will carry on as scheduled, with only the immediate families of his victims allowed to watch if they choose.
TRUMP NIXED HEGSETH’S PLAN TO LIVESTREAM FORT HOOD SHOOTER’S EXECUTION AFTER LISTENING TO PUBLIC BACKLASH
Trump’s decision aligned with many top Republicans who had made public their disagreement with Hegseth’s initial announcement, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Vance said he would not watch if the execution were livestreamed, and Johnson said that “not everybody’s in favor of this idea.”
Hasan is scheduled for execution by firing squad on Dec. 3 after the 2009 attack in which he opened fire inside a crowded medical center for soldiers returning from or about to be deployed overseas, killing 14 people, including an unborn baby, in the deadliest mass shooting at a military base in U.S. history. Hasan was an Army major and psychiatrist at the time. His execution is set to be the first military execution by firing squad in the United States since 1945.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
