The daughter of one of the victims of the Fort Hood terror attack slammed plans by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to livestream the perpetrator’s public execution.
Keely Cahill Vanacker’s father, Michael Cahill, was one of 13 people shot dead by radical Islamist Nidal Malik Hasan, whose execution by firing squad is set to be broadcast live on Dec. 3.
“I think that is absolutely the worst thing you could do. I think that this has nothing to do with justice,” Vanacker said of Hegseth’s plan, speaking to CNN on Monday.
Vanacker — who grimly described it as turning “tragedy” into “entertainment” — said she learned of the move from her son, who found out from an Instagram reel.
“I can’t imagine, with social media, how horrific it would be and how widespread it would be. It is not something you could just get away from,” she said, adding that this would not bring “closure” to the families.
“This does not bring anyone’s family back. Livestreaming isn’t closure for any of us,” she said.
Vanacker said that even for those other victims’ relatives she has spoken to who regard the execution as closure, they had no desire to see it broadcast live.
“Livestreaming is just something that is not even on the radar that they think is ok,” she said.
“This is just a really horrible reaction and a way to handle this situation,” Vanacker added.
Hasan, a former Army Major, murdered 13 people and wounded more than 20 others at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009, after he opened fire on a medical processing center at the base.
He was shot by responding police and paralyzed in the process, and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.
Hasan told officers he was targeting US soldiers deploying to Afghanistan because they were “going to engage in an illegal war.”
He described himself as waging holy Islamic war, or “jihad,” against the United States, and was convicted in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.
Thursday’s announcement by Hegseth to broadcast Hasan’s execution was made on a podcast during an interview by MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec.
Hegseth said execution by firing squad was a return to US Army tactics from the Second World War, which, in his view, was “Understand [that] when the enemy attacks you, you stand your ground.”
But the move has been roundly criticized by the left and right alike, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska calling on the Pentagon to reverse the “gruesome decision” on Friday.
“I would expect this from terrorists and dictators, but not here in America,” she wrote on X, adding that a livestreamed execution would give Hasan “the martyrdom” he wanted.
Fellow Republican Thom Tillis also described a livestreamed execution as “beyond disgusting,” writing that such acts are “what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do.”
President Trump initially backed the idea, but on Saturday said he had not made up his mind on whether to go ahead with a public execution.
“I know what the military would like to do, but I’ll make a decision,” the president said.
