The head of the Federal Communications Commission has declined to say whether local broadcast television stations have a go-ahead from his agency to simulcast a military execution that could be live-streamed in December.
During an Friday morning appearance on CNBC, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr deflected when asked a question about whether licensed broadcast TV stations can simulcast or otherwise air footage from the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, a former U.S. Army soldier who killed nine people during a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, told reporters that Hasan’s execution by firing squad will be streamed on the Internet.
Public executions are not legal in the United States, with federal and most state laws requiring them to be carried out in private. While a limited audience of reporters, families of victims and members of the public are often invited to witness an execution, one has never been broadcast or streamed online.
Legal experts say the streaming of an execution falls into a legal grey area because federal lawmakers have not explicitly prohibited cameras from broadcasting an execution or recording it for later playback on TV and the Internet. The issue also hasn’t been tested by the courts, but Hegseth’s promise is almost certainly going to lead to a legal challenge before Hasan’s scheduled execution on December 3.
“My understanding is it’s not on broadcast TV, so I don’t think there’s a role for the FCC one way or the other there,” Carr said on Friday. “But I trust Secretary Hegseth. He’s implementing the laws and regulations that are relevant to the (Defense Department). I think he’s doing a great job. I trust that he’s making the right call on these issues.”
Carr, who was appointed to the chairman role by President Donald Trump early last year, has rarely criticized Trump or members of his administration. For nearly two years, he has targeted broadcasters at Trump’s urging, including networks whose news programming personally rankles the president.
Carr currently has an investigation into the Walt Disney Company’s eight licensed ABC stations, ordering them to renew their broadcast licenses earlier than expected because of Disney’s purported diversity and equity programs. Disney’s Houston TV station has also been targeted for airing a broadcast of “The View” in February that featured an interview with Texas Representative James Talarico, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Disney said Carr’s politically-motivated probes have already caused ABC to reconsider some of its news segments leading up to the midterm election. The network has asked a federal court to issue an injunction that prevents the FCC from moving forward with its probe into the TV stations.
