Politics
Kelly seeks to bar public broadcasts of federal executions after Pentagon reversal
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly introduced legislation to prohibit recording or distributing footage of federal executions, after President Donald Trump dropped a plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. The proposal would also bar using taxpayer money to make or release such footage.
PHOENIX — Sen. Mark Kelly introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit federal officials and people acting under the Defense Department from recording, livestreaming or distributing footage of military executions. The measure came hours after President Donald Trump said the Pentagon would not livestream the scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
The No Public Executions in America Act would also prohibit taxpayer funds from being used to record or publicly distribute footage of any federal execution, including executions by military commissions. It would apply to executions conducted after the law takes effect, regardless of when a death sentence was imposed.
“Livestreaming an execution is un-American and dangerous,” Kelly said in a written statement, arguing that broadcasting one would not make the country safer. The Arizona Democrat said the bill is intended to prevent the proposal from resurfacing.
The debate followed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement earlier this month that Hasan’s execution, scheduled for Dec. 3, would be made public and livestreamed. The proposal drew bipartisan criticism, including from Vice President JD Vance, who questioned whether it would happen and said he would not watch.
Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon had abandoned the livestream plan after he and Hegseth discussed it, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. Trump said in a social media post that airing the execution might have been a deterrent, but that families of victims could attend in person if they wished. Hasan was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and wounding dozens in the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas.
Kelly’s bill must first be reviewed by a Senate committee. It would then need approval from both the Senate and House before going to the president to be signed or vetoed.