Mark Kelly, Yassamin Ansari Condemn Planned Public Execution of Fort Hood Shooter

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) condemned the planned public execution of Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter, on social media.

The Context

Hassan was recently convicted of murdering 13 people stationed at Fort Hood in 2009, and his sentence to execution by firing squad marks the first execution within the United States military in 65 years.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that not only would Hassan be executed at Fort Hood, but it would be livestreamed.

Capital punishment is once again in the public consciousness after the recent botched execution of Christa Pike, a woman sentenced to death for violently murdering another woman in Tennessee.

What Kelly and Ansari are Saying

"Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense would publicly execute Nidal Hasan and live stream the execution. There is no doubt that Nidal Hasan is a murderer who took the lives of 13 people and injured dozens. He should face justice for that," Sen. Kelly posted on X, adding, "But a public execution? Here in the United States? It's the kind of thing Iran and the Taliban do. Is this who we want to be associated with? Pete Hegseth's campaign of "maximum lethality" and his comments about "killing people,” and now his desire to publicly execute a prisoner, indicate to me that his expiration date in this job has long passed. He should be removed immediately."

Sen. Kelly further emphasized that "this administration needs to reevaluate its priorities. How about they trade glorifying violence for solving some problems and delivering for the American people? We need to be reminded of the nation we can be at our best. As President Ronald Reagan said "compassion, vision, and a fundamental sense of decency are the hallmarks of our national character." That is not what we've seen from this President and his administration. We need to find that again."

Similarly, Rep. Ansari wrote, "In Trump's America, we're doing public executions now. WTF. This is what happens under brutal dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan. It's all part of Trump's authoritarian takeover of the United States — and Republicans in Congress have enabled his agenda at every step."