Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reacted with visible disgust upon learning of a plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, calling the concept "disgusting" and medieval.
Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, proposed making the execution by firing squad, scheduled for December 3, a public event. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people during a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood. President Donald Trump approved Hasan's execution on Monday.
"I actually hadn’t seen that video. That’s the first time that I’m learning he’s going to televise it. I mean, that’s disgusting. What, is he mimicking ISIS executions?" Murphy said in an interview on CNN’s "OutFront" with Erin Burnett. "I mean, I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public executions is medieval."
Murphy further elaborated that the public livestreaming aspect of the execution is "frankly one of the things that we abhor about terrorist groups." He added, "And the fact that the United States is doing it, I just learned this. That is just absolutely extraordinary, galling. No matter whether you support or oppose the death penalty, public hangings and executions — that’s what America has become. That’s ... that’s pretty extraordinary."
Hasan's execution will be the first by firing squad for the U.S. military since 1945. Hegseth stated the intention was to make the event public "because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things."