US Homeland Security secretary sees no ‘risk’ from livestreamed execution

What the report says

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has defended the Trump administration’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, saying he does not see an increased security risk from broadcasting the death on social media. Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Mullin linked the proposal to President Donald Trump’s tougher approach to crime and said viewers would not be forced to watch.

Al Jazeera reported that the plan, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has drawn criticism from lawmakers and others who say it could be used as propaganda by violent or extremist groups. Trump has also suggested he may still change the decision. The execution is scheduled for December 3, though the report notes the president must approve military executions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Hasan, a former US Army major, was convicted in connection with the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas, where 13 people were killed and 32 others injured. He was sentenced to death in 2013. The case has renewed attention because military executions are rare in the United States; if carried out, Hasan would be the first US military member executed since 1961.

The article said several Republican lawmakers, including Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Lisa Murkowski, criticized the broadcasting idea, calling it dangerous, inappropriate or counterproductive. Their concerns focused on possible radicalization, public spectacle and giving Hasan the notoriety they say he seeks.