Lawmakers in both parties are blasting the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the execution of the man convicted of carrying out the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood.

“I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that,” Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, posted on social media Friday morning. 

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, similarly said in a statement that the planned livestream is “disturbing and makes a mockery of our legal system.”

“We are a democratic country and should take the rule of law seriously, not turn it into a spectacle,” Smith said.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that President Donald Trump had approved the execution by firing squad of former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to death for the shooting that killed 13 people and injured 32 others.

The execution, the method of which could still be appealed, is scheduled for Dec. 3.

On Thursday, Hegseth said in an interview that the execution would be public, with the Pentagon later adding that it would be livestreamed.

“People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth told conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice.

Army regulation generally does not allow for public executions, though the Army’s provost marshal general can waive provisions of the regulation.

If carried out, the execution would be the military’s first in 65 years, its first by firing squad in more than 80 years and the first public execution in the United States in 90 years.

In 2025, at least 17 public executions happened worldwide, according to Amnesty International: six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.

Most of the backlash to Hegseth’s plan has come from Democrats, but a couple Republicans have also balked.

“Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring from the Senate and has recently said voting to confirm Hegseth is his biggest regret as a senator, posted on social media. “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.” 

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a Marine Corps veteran, called the prospect of a livestream “a snuff film,” while Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., denounced it as “grotesque.” 

Other lawmakers have alluded to Hasan’s reported desire to martyr himself.

“The Trump administration should reconsider this abhorrent move, which only gives the shooter what he wants: more attention and more control,” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Instead of forcing the shooter to face justice, the Trump administration is literally handing him more power and offering him a global platform to amplify his hateful, anti-American message. This is a gift to anti-American terrorist recruiters.”

Still, staunch supporters of the administration are backing Hegseth’s plan.

“Excellent. Public execution is what this terrorist deserves,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., posted on social media. “We will be watching.”