House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won't watch a livestream of the Pentagon's firing-squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, becoming the latest high-ranking Republican to express apparent unease.
"There are colleagues that have concerns," Johnson told CBS News. "The concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists. You know, we gotta think through the policy of implications of all that."
Johnson said he hasn't spoken to President Donald Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the matter.
He added, "My role as the leader of the legislative branch is to share my opinion. It's outside of my lane, of course, but I need to tell the White House what some of my colleagues think about that and
not everybody's in favor of the idea."
Vice President JD Vance said Oct. 9 he wouldn't watch a livestreamed execution either, just one day after the Hegseth announced the event. The execution will be of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who admitted to killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth told Real America’s Voice on Oct. 8. "Because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things."
Trump, the commander-in-chief, approved Hasan's execution by firing squad shortly before Hegseth's announcement. He later added he'd "make a decision ultimately" about whether the death would be broadcast.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Johnson says he won't watch Fort Hood shooter's execution livestream
