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By Hugh Cameron
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The billionaire co-founder of the data analytics and software giant Palantir has called for the U.S. to bring back public hangings for repeat violent offenders.
Joe Lonsdale defended open-air executions in a series of posts on X, saying their reintroduction would be an example of the "masculine leadership" the country is sorely lacking.
"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," he wrote. "Our society needs balance. It’s time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable."
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Newsweek has contacted Palantir and 8VC, a company where Lonsdale currently serves as managing partner, for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Public executions had disappeared in the U.S. by the end of the 1930s, after outrage prompted legal reforms that moved capital punishment behind prison walls.
Lonsdale’s call to revive the practice stems from a belief that violent crime in the U.S. has spiraled out of control. While regional figures vary, such crimes have declined markedly from a peak in the early 1990s, and nationwide rates have fallen to near-historic lows in recent years according to data from the FBI.
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What To Know
Lonsdale founded Palantir in 2003 alongside the entrepreneurs Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Nathan Gettings and Alex Karp, its current CEO, and boasts a net worth of around $3.6 billion per the latest Forbes estimate.
Lonsdale’s defense of public executions emerged in an X thread discussing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Friday bragged about a "narco boat" strike he said was carried out because of the wishes of Turning Point USA Spokesman Andrew Kolvet.
"This is really grotesque," wrote journalist Claire Lehmann. “(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)"
"Sinking narco boats publicly helps deter others. As does hanging repeat violent criminals," Lonsdale posted in response. "Killing bad guys is [the Department of War’s] job. He should brag more. Masculine truth: bold, virtuous men deter evil."
Lonsdale’s post has attracted significant criticism from many, with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll posting to Bluesky: "Immaturity masquerading as strength is the defining personal characteristic of our age."
"Public fantasies of state violence suggest tech elites are entering a more dangerous and desperate phase of radicalization," posted Gil Duran, journalist and author of the Nerd Reich newsletter, which deals with the "tech authoritarian politics of Silicon Valley plutocrats"
Lonsdale defended his position against these comments, calling himself a "moderate" who believes "in second chances," and said that he would support due process before those convicted of a third violent crime faced public execution.
What People Are Saying
**Joe Lonsdale posted to X: "**We have feminine energy running our cities and our courts," adding that "some mercy and kindness is good but it swung too far when it comes to violent criminals."
Journalist Claire Lehmann posted in response: "There’s a lot of people who advocate for the public execution of CEOs and billionaires— am not sure this is something you would want to normalise."
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