Republican concerns mount over livestreaming Fort Hood shooter's execution

Washington — A growing number of Republicans are voicing concern over the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter in December — or at the very least, saying they won't be watching. 

Over the weekend, President Trump said the administration was still making a determination about whether the firing-squad execution would be livestreamed, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that it would be. The execution of Nidal Hasan, the ex-Army major convicted of the 2009 killing of 13 people at Fort Hood, is scheduled for Dec. 3. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News that some in the House Republican conference don't approve, and said he planned on bringing those concerns to the White House. 

"There are colleagues who have concerns," Johnson told national correspondent and chief Washington analyst Robert Costa in an interview. "The concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists. You know, we've got to think through the policy implications of all that. I wouldn't be watching it if it was aired. But there's a lot of opinions on that. I think there's still some time to talk about that. ... I need to tell the White House what some of my colleagues think about that, and not everybody is in favor of the idea." 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said there is "no need to livestream any execution, including this one," urging the Pentagon to change course. 

"I would expect this from terrorists and dictators, but not here in America," she wrote on X. "It would give this individual, who deserves no further notoriety, the martyrdom he seeks. How we carry out justice matters just as much as the justice itself, so I urge the Pentagon to reverse this gruesome decision."

Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said in a statement, "The death penalty is not entertainment." He said families of the victims deserve justice. "But publicizing the execution of religious extremists provides exactly what terrorists crave: an audience. It converts the most consequential punishment a government can impose into a public spectacle."

"Justice will be served, but the United States of America does not and should not livestream executions," Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri wrote on X. 

Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. of Pennsylvania wrote, "An execution shouldn't be a live-streamed spectacle. The focus should be on justice for the victims and their families, not turning an execution into entertainment. Their pain deserves respect, not a public show."

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina on Friday called livestreaming the execution "beyond disgusting." 

Only one Republican member of Congress has publicly voiced clear support for livestreaming the execution — Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee.: "Excellent. Public execution is what this terrorist deserves," he wrote on X. "We will be watching."

Vice President JD Vance said Friday that he wouldn't be watching if it's livestreamed, and added, "I don't know that that's actually going to happen."

"So whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don't forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people," Vance told reporters. "Now that said, I mean, look, if it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it."

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the livestreaming decision on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" this weekend. Asked if the administration risks making Hasan a martyr, Mullin responded, "No one has to watch it." Pressed further on whether the decision risks radicalizing others, Mullin said, "I think people need to understand if you attack— if you attack America, we will come after you, and we will make sure that the— that the punishment fits the crime." 

On Saturday, Mr. Trump floated the possibility that the plans could still change. 

"There are two thoughts: don't show it and show it," the president told reporters at the White House Saturday. "'Cause you know, by showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did. So I'll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but I'll make a decision."

The president has given seemingly conflicting information as to whether he was involved in the decision to livestream the execution. 

When a reporter asked the president Friday if he authorized or approved the livestreaming decision, he said, "Absolutely, I did." But in an interview with CNY Central Syracuse later that day, he said he "wasn't involved in that decision" to livestream the execution, while saying he understood that decision was made to "have it serve as an example."