Republican opposition is growing to the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on 3 December. However, President Donald Trump said the administration was still deciding whether the execution would be broadcast, despite Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth previously announcing that it would be.
Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, said some members of his party were concerned that a recording could become a recruitment tool for terrorists. He said he intended to raise their objections with the White House.
“There are colleagues who have concerns,” Mr Johnson said. “The concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists.”
He added that he would not watch the execution if it were broadcast, saying there was still time to discuss the policy implications and that “not everybody is in favour of the idea”.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said there was “no need to livestream any execution, including this one”. She urged the Pentagon to reverse what she called a decision that could give Hasan, who she said deserved no further notoriety, the martyrdom he sought.
Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said: “The death penalty is not entertainment.” He said publicising the execution of a religious extremist would provide “exactly what terrorists crave: an audience” and turn the punishment into “a public spectacle”.
Republican representatives Ann Wagner of Missouri and Rob Bresnahan Jr of Pennsylvania also opposed the plan. Ms Wagner said justice would be served but that the United States “does not and should not livestream executions”, while Mr Bresnahan said the focus should remain on the victims and their families rather than entertainment.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina described the proposal as “beyond disgusting”. Vice-President JD Vance also said he would not watch if the execution were livestreamed, adding that he did not know whether it would ultimately happen.
“I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Mr Vance told reporters. “Now that said, I mean, look, if it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it.”
Only one Republican member of Congress, Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, has publicly expressed clear support for broadcasting the execution. “Excellent. Public execution is what this terrorist deserves,” he wrote. “We will be watching.”
Markwayne Mullin, the Secretary of Homeland Security, defended the proposal, saying that “no one has to watch it”. Asked whether the decision could encourage radicalisation, he said people needed to understand that if they attacked America, the country would respond and ensure that “the punishment fits the crime”.
Mr Trump has offered conflicting accounts of his involvement in the decision. Asked on Friday whether he had authorised or approved the livestream, he replied: “Absolutely, I did.” But later that day he said he “wasn’t involved in that decision”, while saying he understood it had been made so the execution could “serve as an example”.
On Saturday, the president said there were arguments both for and against broadcasting the execution. “By showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did,” he said, adding that he would ultimately make the decision.
