Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rejected the idea that livestreaming the execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan could make him a martyr for his cause, saying those against the idea do not have to watch.
Mullin told CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday that he sees no “elevated risk” of radicalization in the United States brought on by livestreaming the firing squad execution in December, despite moderator Margaret Brennan noting that Hasan is in a wheelchair, which may leave viewers sympathetic to his cause and view him as a victim.
“No one has to watch it. But for me to have sympathy for anybody that killed 13 service members and a scumbag like this is a psycho who was supposed to be a psychiatrist,” Mullin said before Brennan reiterated the concerns about livestreaming the execution.
President Donald Trump has said Hasan’s death by firing squad would “absolutely” be broadcast live after War Secretary Pete Hegseth first announced the plans. The president has since said there hasn’t been a final decision made, but noted he would have the final say.
Some Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that airing the execution could give terrorists exactly what they desire: An audience. When asked if he has weighed the risk of radicalizing more individuals, Mullin said the department has done just that.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ARMY’S PLANS TO LIVESTREAM THE EXECUTION OF FORT HOOD SHOOTER
“We weigh the risk every single day in this country,” Mullin said. “Department of Homeland Security. That’s what we do, is we protect the homeland. But I don’t see an elevated risk at this point at all because of this: I think people need to understand if you attack America, we will come after you, and we will make sure that the punishment fits the crime, and in this case, he killed 13 individuals on Fort Hood. I have no sympathy for him, and I give absolutely zero thought to the way that this man dies.”
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 one of the deadliest mass shootings at a military base in U.S. history. Hasan was a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist at the time. His execution is set to be the first military execution by firing squad in the U.S. since 1945.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
