Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) stunned reaction upon learning of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream an execution at Fort Hood was captured live on CNN Thursday night, where he called the whole concept “disgusting.”
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“I actually hadn’t seen that video. That’s the first time that I’m learning he’s going to televise it. I mean, that’s disgusting. What, is he mimicking ISIS executions?” Murphy told “OutFront” host Erin Burnett. “I mean, I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public executions is medieval.”
Former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people during a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, is scheduled to die on Dec. 3 after President Donald Trump approved his execution by firing squad on Monday.
“No-brainer,” Hegseth told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Thursday. “Execution by firing squad. Army major betrays his country, radical Islamist, kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood ― of course we’re going to do it at Fort Hood.”
He added, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things.”
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Hasan’s death penalty will be the first time the U.S. military used a firing squad execution since 1945.
Murphy told Burnett the public livestreamed aspect of Hasan’s execution is “frankly one of the things that we abhor about terrorist groups.”
“And the fact that the United States is doing it, I just learned this. That is just absolutely extraordinary, galling,” Murphy said. “No matter whether you support or oppose the death penalty, public hangings and executions — that’s what America has become. That’s … that’s pretty extraordinary.”
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