'A Barbaric Idea': Pentagon Plan to Livestream Firing-Squad Execution Draws Bipartisan Outcry
A contentious Pentagon plan to publicly livestream the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan has ignited swift, cross-party condemnation, with Hillary Clinton and prominent lawmakers warning the move marks an unprecedented erosion of American legal norms.
Clinton sharply rebuked the initiative in a public post, labeling the proposed broadcast “a barbaric idea, beneath our dignity as a country,” while urging the public to “push back on this.”
The controversy erupted following an announcement by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who confirmed that President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s execution by a U.S. Army firing squad. The method was recommended by Secretary Pete Hegseth, with officials setting the execution date for December 3 and confirming it would be accompanied by a public livestream.
Hasan, a former Army major, was convicted on all counts of murder and attempted murder in August 2013 for the 2009 massacre at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, which left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded.
The proposal to broadcast the lethal procedure has faced immediate pushback from both sides of the political aisle. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina denounced the broadcast plan as entirely abhorrent, cautioning that televised executions align the United States with oppressive regimes like Iran and Afghanistan rather than constitutional democracies.
While Trump previously endorsed the firing squad method during a political appearance in Texas—asserting that the convicted killer “deserves it”—he has stopped short of directly backing the live broadcast portion of the Pentagon's announcement.
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Following Clinton’s comments, conservative critics resurfaced a 2011 interview clip showing her reacting to the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, during which she laughed and remarked, “We came, we saw, he died.” While graphic footage and images of Gaddafi’s capture and corpse circulated globally at the time, his death was not officially broadcast live by U.S. authorities.
Military regulations historically restrict execution attendance to a tightly controlled circle, typically limited to the condemned individual’s legal counsel, family members, surviving victims, a military chaplain, and select media pool witnesses. Streaming the fatal proceedings to the general public represents a stark departure from established military and federal penal precedent, raising immediate ethical and legal questions as the scheduled December date approaches.
