Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Thursday that public executions are “a practice of authoritarian regimes” with “no place in American justice,” reacting to President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the livestream of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan’s firing-squad execution. The remarks landed hours after Trump overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a plan that had drawn objections from Republicans, Catholic leaders and the public.
Warner posted the message on X on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The full post reads:
“NEW: Following bipartisan outrage, Trump has scrapped his administration’s plans to livestream an execution. Public executions are a practice of authoritarian regimes; they have no place in American justice. This barbaric spectacle should’ve never been on the table in the first place.”
Warner’s post did not name Hegseth, but the plan he was reacting to was the Pentagon chief’s. According to Reuters, Trump scrapped the livestream of the Dec. 3 execution at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, ending a plan that Hegseth had announced. The reversal was a rare public disagreement between the president and one of his closest allies, though the Pentagon insisted the two were “completely aligned.”
Trump Reverses the Pentagon
In a social media post announcing the decision, Trump wrote that Hasan “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” He also said that streaming the execution might have been a strong deterrent, but that many good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die by any visual device. A White House official, speaking anonymously, said Trump and his advisers had been unaware of the livestream plan.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the president spoke with Hegseth before announcing the decision. “The Secretary supports the President’s decision, and they are completely aligned,” Parnell said. The families of Hasan’s victims will still be able to attend the execution in person, as is standard at U.S. executions.
How the Livestream Plan Unfolded
The plan became public on Oct. 7, when Hegseth, speaking in a television interview aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, said the execution would be open to viewers. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth said. Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests, he answered, “Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd.” The Pentagon confirmed the next day that the execution would be livestreamed.
Opposition built quickly. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees spiritual care for Catholic members of the U.S. armed forces, said Oct. 12 that Catholics in the Army should not take part in the firing squad. He questioned whether the effect of a livestream on young viewers had been considered. Vice President JD Vance said that if the execution were livestreamed, he would not watch it. Pope Leo condemned capital punishment on Oct. 10, though he did not mention Hasan by name.
Opinion polls showed a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming it, and no other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions. Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, called the cancellation “the right move.” Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the original plan “a profound failure of moral judgment and basic human decency.”
Warner’s Earlier Condemnation
Thursday’s post was not Warner’s first statement on the issue. On Oct. 9, six days earlier, his office released a statement titled “Warner Condemns Trump’s Push for Public Execution.” In it, Warner described the 2009 attack as “a horrific act of violence that took 13 innocent lives and devastated military families.” He added that the perpetrator “was convicted and sentenced to death, and nothing changes the gravity of his crimes.”
Warner then drew the line he returned to Thursday. “There is a fundamental difference between carrying out a lawful sentence and turning an execution into a public spectacle,” he said. “Public executions are the hallmark of authoritarian regimes like Iran and North Korea, not the United States of America. There is a reason that almost no countries in the world engage in this barbaric practice.”
The Oct. 9 statement also framed the issue as a matter of national security. “Beyond the profound moral concerns, a public execution could hand terrorist organizations a propaganda victory, fuel radicalization, and put American service members, diplomats, and citizens overseas at greater risk,” Warner said. “Justice for the victims does not require creating unnecessary threats to our national security.”
Warner also tied the issue to the president’s broader conduct. “Unfortunately, this is part of a much broader pattern,” he said. “From proposing public executions to threatening to interfere in our elections, President Trump continues to challenge the principles and practices that distinguish America from authoritarian regimes.” With the midterm elections on Nov. 3, Warner said he was “particularly concerned about his willingness to abuse the powers of the federal government to interfere with how Americans cast their ballots and how those votes are counted.”
Warner’s Record on Hegseth
Warner has repeatedly called for Hegseth to leave his post. In a Dec. 3, 2025, statement after the Pentagon’s inspector general found that Hegseth had violated Defense Department policy by sharing classified information in an unsecured group chat, Warner said the secretary “endangered the lives of American pilots” aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pete Hegseth should resign, or the president must remove him at once,” he said.
The following day, Warner told reporters he had also heard from Norfolk sailors’ families who were “frankly pissed off” that their sons and daughters could have been put in harm’s way. On the Caribbean boat strikes, he said, “You don’t blow up people that are no longer combatants, even if you accept the fact there could’ve been drugs on the boat.” Earlier in 2025, he had already called for Hegseth’s resignation or removal over the Signal chat controversy.
Others in Congress have gone further. House Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Hegseth on April 15, 2026, accusing him of abuse of power and waging war on Iran without congressional approval. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, then moved on Sept. 15 to force a floor vote on impeachment articles against the secretary over the Iran war. Warner’s own public demand has been that Hegseth resign or be fired.
Warner’s Record on Capital Punishment and Fort Hood
Warner’s stance on capital punishment has a long record. As governor of Virginia, he allowed 11 executions to proceed. On June 12, 2002, he declined clemency for Walter Mickens, saying the case had been “reviewed in detail by numerous state and federal courts.” On Nov. 29, 2005, he halted the planned execution of Robin Lovitt, which would have been the 1,000th in the United States since 1976, saying Virginia “must ensure that every time this ultimate sanction is carried out it is done fairly.” Virginia abolished the death penalty in 2021.
Warner’s connection to the Fort Hood attack also dates to its aftermath. On Nov. 9, 2009, four days after the shooting, he was the presiding senator when the Senate convened and held a moment of silence for the fallen at Fort Hood.
What Happens Next
A military jury convicted Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, of premeditated murder for killing 13 unarmed soldiers and wounding 32 others at a medical facility at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009. Law enforcement shot him during the attack, paralyzing him from the waist down. The military has not carried out an execution by firing squad since 1945. An attorney for Hasan could not immediately be reached, and it was unclear whether legal challenges would delay the Dec. 3 date. The scrutiny comes as capital punishment already faces questions after Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in a failed Tennessee execution attempt last month.