Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is pushing back on the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the first firing squad execution since World War II, warning that broadcasting the event would set a bad “precedent.”
Spicer, who served as press secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, criticized the plan alongside Dan Turrentine on The Huddle podcast. Both men took issue with the idea, though they acknowledged they would be “surprised” if it actually happens.
The Pentagon announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, a move that sparked bipartisan backlash.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people in a mass shooting at the Fort Hood post in Killeen, Texas, in 2009. He was sentenced to death in 2013.
Spicer made clear he has no interest in watching anyone die, even as he acknowledged the “horrific” nature of Hasan’s crimes.
The Republican laid out two main concerns with the plan. First, he argued that livestreaming the execution could allow children to access the footage and could give other governments cover to broadcast executions of their own.
“I just don’t think it’s a good precedent to set, to livestream something that kids could access, that people could use as justification to say, well, the U.S. did it,” Spicer said.
He pointed to the differences between the American system and those of other nations, noting that the case falls under military law.
“Again, our criminal justice system in this case, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is very different from other countries. But I would never want the justification of ‘Watch what the U.S. did, we’re gonna do it,’” Spicer said.
His second concern centered on the killer himself. Spicer argued that putting the execution on public display could help Hasan become a “martyr,” which he noted is the goal of most terrorists.
Rather than giving the convicted mass murderer a platform, Spicer said the government should carry out the sentence quietly and keep the focus on those he harmed.
“This guy was a dirtball and what he did was abhorrent and the last thing we should do is give him any kind of recognition so I think put him to death, don’t say anything about it, make sure the victims know that they have received [justice] to the extent of justice that can be achieved on Earth,” Spicer said.
Spicer’s comments add a prominent Republican voice to the chorus of critics from both sides of the aisle who have objected to the livestream plan.
Notably, Spicer did not take issue with the death sentence itself. His criticism focused squarely on the decision to broadcast the execution, which he argued could expose children to the footage, encourage other countries to follow suit and hand a terrorist the recognition he would want.
The former press secretary’s bottom line was simple: carry out the sentence, keep it out of the spotlight, and make sure the victims know justice has been served.
Both Spicer and Turrentine indicated on the podcast that they remain skeptical the livestream will ultimately move forward.