'Go to jail or be shot’: Trump warns US military secret leakers

US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has a stark warning for those who leak military secrets: face jail or risk being shot. He made the remarks at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on Wednesday (local time), while discussing the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025.“In my opinion, leakers should be shot,” Trump said, drawing applause from the crowd. “In the old days we used to shoot leakers, you know?”The US President described the B-2 bombers used in the operation as “totally stealth” aircraft that dropped “very large bombs” on the facilities. He further claimed that someone had alerted the news media about the planned attack, adding, “They ought to go to jail or be shot,”This is not the first time Trump has threatened government sources who share information with journalists.

When he first took office, he promised to track down the “low-life leakers” who provided the news media with information about his administration's ties to Russia, New York Times reported.Alyssa Farah Griffin, a White House official during Trump's first term, told a Mediaite podcast that she had heard Trump talk about executing a staff member who leaked information.Trump's remarks come as he pushes to restore the use of the federal death penalty, a move he campaigned for after the Biden administration imposed a moratorium on executions.

Earlier this month, Trump approved the first legally sanctioned public execution in the US since 1936, paving the way for Nidal Malik Hasan to be killed by firing squad on December 3. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.The Trump administration has said the execution would be streamed live. Trump later confirmed that he had “absolutely” agreed to the proposal, while acknowledging that the plan could change.“They are making a determination about that, but he will be killed,” Trump said. “I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes.”The Pentagon had earlier indicated that the execution would be livestreamed, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the military would ensure people could watch it. However, Vice President JD Vance expressed uncertainty over whether the broadcast would go ahead.Vance described Hasan's attack as the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside the September 11, 2001, attacks, but said he would not watch the execution if it were streamed live.