The billionaire co-founder of software company Palantir has called for the return of public hangings in order to demonstrate “masculine leadership.”
“If I’m in charge later, we won’t just have a three strikes law. We will quickly try and hang men after three violent crimes. And yes, we will do it in public to deter others,” Joe Lonsdale wrote on X.
“Our society needs balance. It’s time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable.”
Lonsdale, who co-founded the tech giant along with entrepreneurs including Peter Thiel, made the comments in response to online criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and his attitude to recent military strikes against alleged “drug boats.”
Hegseth was called out for his own online posts in which he boasted openly about sinking “another narco-boat.” Online users reacted with outrage, with Claire Lehmann, editor of the Australian-based libertarian website Quillette describing the post itself as "grotesque."
“And look I get it that sometimes hard men need to do ugly things. But if you're going to do this, don't broadcast it, & don't brag about it. FFS,” Lehmann wrote.
Lonsdale replied: “She’s just wrong. Leftist schoolmarm leaders cause violence and evil in our civilization. Sinking narco boats publicly helps deter others. As does hanging repeat violent criminals.
“Killing bad guys is DoW job. He should brag more. Masculine truth: bold, virtuous men deter evil.”
Hegseth is locked in an ongoing controversy over airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean, which have killed at least 80 people. The Defense Department – aka the Dept. of War – has not produced evidence to back its claims that the people it is targeting are in fact drug smugglers heading to the United States.
The issue escalated last week after revelations that two survivors from the first airstrike, on September 2, had deliberately been killed by a second airstrike. Hegseth and President Donald Trump both pointed to the admiral in charge of the operation as being responsible, although they said he had acted within his authority. Critics have suggested the administration may be guilty of a war crime.
The last person publicly executed in the United States was Rainey Bethea, who was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, on August 14, 1936, in front of a crowd of about 15,000 people. He had confessed to raping and murdering a 70-year-old woman. The media circus around the execution and its botched circumstances – the volunteer hangman was said to be drunk – contributed to a decision not to hold any more hangings in public.
Lonsdale, a U.S. entrepreneur and venture capitalist is valued at around $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. He also co-founded companies including Addepar, OpenGov and 8VC, having started his career as an intern at Paypal, whose founders included Thiel and Elon Musk.
“PayPal has produced the worst set of rich tech nerds in existence,” one social media user responded to Lonsdale’s post.
“Nothing to see here, just the founder of Trump’s favorite AI powered policing tech company fantasizing about publicly executing people,” wrote another.
“Yeah man great idea u don’t sound like a stupid bloodthirsty loser at all,” added a third.
