Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently revealed that his planned execution of a rogue soldier will be made "public," summoning mixed responses online, with some calling it "nuts," and others labeling it a "blessed event."

In an interview with Real America's Voice on Thursday, Hegseth assured viewers that Nidal Hasan - a former Army psychiatrist who was convicted of fatally shooting 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009 - would be executed at the base on December 3, "as it should be."

"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it's public. Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things," Hegseth said.

He also said it would be done around 1 PM when Hasan allegedly committed the shooting. The Pentagon says the execution will be livestreamed, per reports by the Associated Press.

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The remarks come after the Pentagon first announced the execution on Monday, noting that President Donald Trump had approved the idea.

If carried out, it will be the first public execution done by the US military since 1961. The last public execution in the US took place in 1936, when a Black man in Kentucky was convicted of raping a white woman and hanged in a similar effort to send a message, but to Black Americans.

Hegseth's remarks on Thursday quickly went viral on social media. Critics on the left have been sharing their disgust for what many have described as a "barbaric" event, with one X user writing, "Pete Hegseth turning a firing squad execution into a livestreamed spectacle is nuts. Justice is one thing. Turning an execution into entertainment is something entirely different."

Yet, MAGA loyalists and other conservatives have been celebrating, praising Hegseth and asking how and when they can tune in.

"When is the blessed event? I want to make sure I clear my calendar for that day," one X user wrote, while another said, "This got me pumped."

Failed Congressional candidate and MAGA influencer Valentina Gomez – who has shamelessly called for leftists and anyone against Trump to be murdered – declared the move makes Hegseth the greatest defense secretary "in American history."