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Welcome to logout: The Trump administration is planning a public massacre.
What happened? On Thursday, the Pentagon announced a public execution of former Army Major Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for a 2009 mass shooting at a military base.
The execution, if it happened, would be unprecedented: The last widely reported public execution in the United States was in Kentucky 90 years ago, but broadcasting a death live is another matter entirely. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promoted the news with an almost gleeful attitude, telling reporters “we’re going to make sure people can watch it.”
What’s the background? According to the Pentagon, Hassan will be executed by firing squad on December 3, the first such execution by the military in more than 80 years.
Hassan, a former Army psychiatrist, was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after a court-martial following a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others. The execution will take place at the same Army post.
Will the Pentagon do this? It’s unclear for a number of reasons. The Pentagon’s announcement that Hassan’s death would be live-streamed prompted a bipartisan backlash and condemnation from religious groups, although it was unlikely to stop the execution itself.
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the decision to livestream executions as a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death,” and retired Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called the decision “abhorrent.”
“Public executions are something repressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” Tillis wrote in a post on X.
Hassan’s legal team could also significantly delay his execution – possibly for years – by challenging his detention in federal court, even though he has exhausted the military appeals process.
That’s it, time to log off…
The world’s driest (non-polar) desert, South America’s Atacama Desert, bloomed late last month after record rainfall. You can read more about the science behind wildflowers here, or just enjoy some spectacular photos here (here’s a gift link). Anyway, I hope it brings you some joy.
The drop-off falls on Aboriginal Day on Monday, so we’ll see you again on Tuesday. Have a great long weekend!