The US Department of Homeland Security chief has defended a proposal to livestream the execution of convicted shooter Nidal Hasan, dismissing suggestions that it could incite radicalisation or turn him into a martyr.
“I don’t see an increased risk,” said Markwayne Mullin on Sunday. “If you attack the United States, we will pursue you and ensure the punishment matches the offense.”
Hasan, a former U.S. Army major, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad in December for killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas.
The Trump administration announced its intention to livestream the execution, a move that has drawn alarm from members of both parties.
President Donald Trump said he has authorized the execution, and while he supports the livestream idea, a final decision has not yet been reached.
It would mark the first public execution in the United States in nearly 100 years.
The plan, disclosed last week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has drawn sharp criticism from politicians, scholars, and experts.
Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski described the decision as “gruesome,” saying she would expect such a livestream from terrorists or dictators, not from the United States.
“It would give this individual, who deserves no further notoriety, the martyrdom he seeks,” she wrote on X, external, adding that “how we carry out justice matters just as much as the justice itself.”
Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner warned that letting the public watch the execution could increase national‑security risks.
“Beyond the deep moral concerns, a public execution could give terrorist groups a propaganda boost, fuel radicalization, and endanger U.S. service members, diplomats, and civilians abroad,” he wrote, external.
In an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, the DHS secretary dismissed those worries, saying the risks had been evaluated.
“[Hasan] killed 13 people at Fort Hood. I have no sympathy for him, and I give absolutely no thought to how this man dies,” Mullin told presenter Margaret Brennan.