United States: Mike Johnson sees public execution as a potential “recruitment tool for future terrorists”

The execution of Nidal Hasan, sentenced to death for killing 13 people on a US military base in 2009, is due to take place on December 3 in Texas. But Defense Minister Pete Hegseth's plan to broadcast his killing live has sparked criticism even in the Republican camp. On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed his reservations on CBS News.

“The concern would be that you were making a video that would serve as a recruiting tool for future terrorists,” Mike Johnson explained. The Republican leader considers it necessary to think about the consequences of such a broadcast and clarified that he would not watch the images if the execution was broadcast. He also acknowledged that “not everyone is in favor of this idea” among his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

Republicans are clearly divided

Aged 56, Nidal Hasan, former commander of the US army, is to be executed by firing squad at a military base in Texas. He admitted to having killed 13 people during a shooting at Fort Hood in 2009. On October 8, Pete Hegseth announced on the conservative channel Real America's Voice that his execution would be accessible to the public. It would be the first American military execution in more than 60 years.

This announcement provoked reactions in both parties. According to The Hill, Republican Senator from Alaska Lisa Murkowski asked the Minister of Defense to reverse his decision, believing that such a broadcast risked giving more notoriety to the convict. “I would expect that from terrorists and dictators, but not here in America,” she said on X.

“It’s beyond disgusting”

North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis also denounced this initiative. “Hasan should be sentenced to death, but make his execution public and broadcast it live? It’s beyond disgusting,” he wrote on X, reports The Hill. If several elected officials support the application of the death penalty in this case, the broadcast of the execution is the subject of criticism beyond political divisions.

All our articles on the United States