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Last Updated on October 9, 2026.

WASHINGTON – In response to Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s announcement that the U.S. government will livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, Win Without War Deputy Director Shayna Lewis released the following statement:

“We utterly condemn Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s decision to broadcast the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad. This is merely the latest outrageous action by the Secretary, and it is past time Congress held him accountable for his crimes and moral failures. 

“Hegseth must be impeached and lawmakers should soundly reject any Pentagon funding that could further embolden his catastrophic leadership. 

“Public executions were once a shameful staple of American life, particularly under Jim Crow. The last state-sanctioned public execution was in the 1930s. Looking back to that era, we are rightly shocked and appalled by the prospect of widely attended public lynchings that were once all too commonplace. Hegseth wants to numb us to that shock, doing his part to deliver on Donald Trump’s promise of a country where racialized and Islamophobic state violence is celebrated. It doesn’t diminish the gravity of Hasan’s crime to recognize and condemn Hegseth’s dangerous decision for what this decision is: sadism as government policy. 

“With Hegseth, enough is already far too much. The House of Representatives must adopt Rep. Massie’s articles of impeachment against Hegseth when it returns in November, and the Senate must promptly follow with a vote to convict and remove him from office. As and until they take those crucial steps, members of Congress — including those negotiating the National Defense Authorization Act and defense appropriations bills — should refuse to give the Pentagon one more dime.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for a progressive foreign policy in the United States.

October 9, 2026