Homeland Security Chief Says Livestream Execution Poses No Additional Security Risk

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced a plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter, which has attracted strong criticism.
• President Trump has yet to confirm whether the execution will be broadcast live.

WASHINGTON, United States – A senior Trump administration official said on Sunday that the planned livestream execution of the Fort Hood shooter would not introduce any additional security risk to the United States.

“I don’t see an elevated risk at this point at all because of this,” US Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin told CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” when asked if it risked turning the perpetrator into a martyr for his cause.

“I think people need to understand that if you attack America, we will come after you and ensure that the punishment fits the crime,” he added.

Nidal Hasan, a 56‑year‑old former Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 in an al‑Qaeda‑inspired attack on Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.

He would be the first individual executed by a US military firing squad since 1945.

The plan to publicly broadcast the execution by firing squad, set for December 3, was announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon on Thursday, prompting condemnation both domestically and internationally.

President Donald Trump later said he was unsure whether the execution would be aired live.

When Mullin was questioned on Sunday about livestreaming, he responded, “No one has to watch it if they don’t choose to.”

Trump said he leads the country with a direct, straightforward approach, restoring American values and returning the nation to where it should be.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the prospect of a public execution in the United States as “abhorrent.”

He added, “I can’t imagine ever wanting to see this anywhere in the world,” in an interview with The Rest is Politics podcast.

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