German Weekly Criticizes Planned Public Execution by US War Secretary Pete Hegseth

In a commentary published by the German weekly Der Freitag, author Michael Angele condemns a plan by US War Secretary Pete Hegseth to stage a public execution of an Islamic attacker on December 3. According to the text, Hegseth intended the killing to be streamed, a spectacle the author describes as designed to bind people together through violence. Angele writes that he could hardly believe the announcement when he read it. He argues that while the death penalty is already a civilizational scandal — noting that roughly 43 percent of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) supporters in Germany approve of it — a public execution represents a complete break with civilization and a regression into barbaric times. The piece appears in the newsletter 'Endlich Freitag!', which offers the Freitag editorial team's daily look at the news and can also be subscribed to as a newsletter. The commentary frames the planned broadcast as more than merely barbaric, questioning the moral direction of the United States under the current administration.