US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the firing squad execution of convicted military base shooter Nidal Hasan will be “public,” according to a video shared Thursday by the Pentagon.
“He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec in a clip posted on X by various official Pentagon accounts.
“People need to understand that… there’s serious consequence for these types of things,” Hegseth said, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
Asked to clarify what Hegseth meant by the execution being “public,” a Pentagon spokesperson referred AFP to the US Army, which in turn said to contact the Pentagon.
According to rights group Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions are known to have been carried out last year — six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.
The Pentagon announced earlier this week that US President Donald Trump had approved Hasan’s execution for the 2009 fatal shooting of 13 people at Fort Hood.
