Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the Trump administration’s proposal to livestream the execution of a convicted mass murderer Sunday, brushing aside concerns that the broadcast could turn him into a martyr, something the editorial board of the “New York Post” argued might result from a public viewing.

The proposal calls for publicly broadcasting the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.

When CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked whether broadcasting Hasan’s execution could encourage radicalization by turning him into a martyr, Mullin offered a blunt response: “No one has to watch it.”

“I don’t see an elevated risk at this point at all because of this,” Mullin said, arguing that the execution would demonstrate the consequences of attacking Americans.

“I give absolutely zero thought to the way that this man dies,” he added.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that Hasan would be executed by firing squad Dec. 3, with the proceedings livestreamed to the public. The execution would be the first carried out by the U.S. military since 1961.

Secretary Hegseth was asked about the execution of Nidal Hasan:

“No-brainer—execution by firing squad…

Of course we’re doing it at Fort Hood. We’re going to do it at 1 o’clock—which is when he did it. It’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad.”

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 8, 2026

The proposal has drawn objections from lawmakers in both parties. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, urged the Pentagon to reverse what she called a “gruesome decision,” warning that the broadcast could provide Hasan with the notoriety and martyrdom he seeks.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also condemned the proposal, saying public executions belong to oppressive dictatorships, not the United States. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said he supports Hasan’s death sentence but opposes broadcasting it.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., warned that livestreaming the execution could provide material for terrorist recruitment.

Others have defended the proposal. Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas and a longtime Trump ally, argued that public executions demonstrate the sanctity of human life. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., also expressed support.

Vice President JD Vance has questioned whether the livestream will actually happen, but won’t watch it if it does. And President Donald Trump said Saturday that he would ultimately decide.

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The controversy comes less than two weeks after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike, who survived two doses of lethal injection drugs Sept. 30. Pike later regained consciousness, and her attorneys have sought to preserve evidence from the botched procedure.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee ordered a review of the failed execution, which has intensified scrutiny of capital punishment methods as the administration considers broadcasting Hasan’s death.

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Newly released NYPD body-camera footage showing the aftermath of an immigration enforcement shooting in New York City has intensified scrutiny of federal agents who shot a man with his 5-year-old son in the car.

The footage shows officers arriving Thursday in Marble Hill to find Oscar Belgal, 28, wounded, handcuffed and seated on the ground. NYPD officers rendered aid and rushed him to a hospital. Police later located his unharmed son with a family member.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting in an initial social media post, saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had shot a New Yorker while his child was in the vehicle.

This afternoon in Marble Hill, a New Yorker was shot by an ICE agent in a residential neighborhood. Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed.

This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.

Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight. We are praying for his recovery.

Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children.

Abolish ICE.

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 8, 2026

ICE defended the operation, alleging that Belgal, a Dominican national with a criminal record, accelerated his vehicle toward federal agents who feared for their lives. The agency also accused him of gang involvement.

On October 8, at approximately 4:00 PM ET, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession. He has associations to the Trinitarios gang, the same gang who brutally shot a CBP officer last year.

This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk.

During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured.

ICE officers immediately rendered aid. The individual is alive and at a local hospital. The FBI and HSI are on the scene. The incident remains under investigation. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments. Our officers should not have to risk their lives, and innocent Americans should not have to face unnecessary danger, because sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) October 9, 2026

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one federal agent fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck. Surveillance footage shows armed, plainclothes officers approaching his vehicle but does not capture the shooting itself.

The incident sparked demonstrations across the city, including a Friday march from Foley Square to federal immigration offices in Manhattan.

Mamdani said he unsuccessfully appealed to President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to release Belgal. He subsequently called for ICE’s abolition.

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Belgal’s attorneys said he was transferred to New Jersey after the shooting before being returned to federal detention in Brooklyn. A judge has restricted his transfer and temporarily blocked his deportation while his legal challenge proceeds.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called for a “full and transparent investigation conducted without fear or favor.”

The Bronx district attorney’s office is investigating. ICE has not publicly released its own body-camera footage of the shooting.

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