A tech tycoon has sparked controversy by advocating for public executions of repeat violent offenders, arguing this would reinstate what he describes as “masculine leadership.”

Joe Lonsdale, a prominent venture capitalist and co-founder of the surveillance firm Palantir, made headlines with his provocative comments. He was reacting to criticism aimed at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who had recently authorized a strike on a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs into the United States.

“Publicly sinking drug boats serves as a warning to others, much like executing repeat violent offenders would,” Lonsdale stated on X this past Friday.

Lonsdale further elaborated that eliminating threats is the Department of War’s responsibility, and he suggested that Hegseth should proudly highlight such actions.

He concluded his statement by asserting that “bold, virtuous men are a deterrent to evil,” encapsulating his belief in the power of decisive action.

In a follow-up post, Lonsdale – whom Forbes estimates to have a net worth of $3.6 billion – wrote that if he were in charge ‘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 then added that ‘our society needs balance’ and said ‘it’s time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable.’ 

Venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, cofounder of surveillance company Palantir, called for the return of public hangings after an offender commits ‘three violent crimes’

He argued in a post on Friday that it is ‘time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable’

His comments came in defense of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth after he announcing another strike on what is believed to be a boat carrying drugs to the US

But the macho stance was quickly ripped apart online, with many accusing him of taking too authoritarian of an approach on crime.

‘PayPal Mafia/Palantir billionaire Joe Lonsdale calls for scrapping due process and instituting public executions for the sake of “masculine leadership,”‘ declared Gil Duran, a journalist who documents the increasingly authoritarian politics of Silicon Valley in his newsletter ‘The Nerd Reich.’

‘Public fantasies of state violence are entering a more dangerous and desperate phase of radicalization.’

Author Steve Tally went even further, proclaiming that Lonsdale is ‘a clear and present danger to the citizens of the United States.’

Meanwhile, former Obama-era National Security Council staffer quipped that he was ‘glad the US government is pouring money into this guy’s big data surveillance company.’

Palantir is a surveillance software firm that builds tools to help governments and corporations work with large data sets. It is currently working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States.

Claire Lehmann – founder and editor of Quilette – also wrote that it is ‘wild that saying “Maybe we shouldn’t normalize public executions” is being floated as a “far left/insane” position by US tech figures.

‘The West stopped doing public executions because we moved beyond barbarism,’ she argued.

‘One would think a founder of a university would know this,’ she said, taking a dig at Lonsdale for backing the University of Austin – an unaccredited liberal arts college that has been pitched as an alternative to left-wing universities.

Many online skewered the billionaire for his authoritarian take

Menswear writer Derek Guy added that he has to wonder: ‘What does it mean for a billionaire involved in building a surveillance state to fantasize about public executions? That they can take pleasure in such theater?’

‘I’m a statist, not a libertarian, but I recognize the state can be turned into dehumanizing machinery,’ he noted. 

Others took issue with his definition of ‘masculine leadership.’

Taulby Edmonson, an adjunct professor of history, religion and culture at Virginia Tech, for example, wrote on BlueSky that the rhetoric Lonsdale used to justify public hangings could have darker connotations.

‘A point of nuance here: “masculine leadership to protect our must vulnerable” is how lynch mobs are described, not state-sanctioned executions,’ he wrote. 

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll also argued that Lonsdale’s remarks were symbolic of a kind of performative masculinity.

‘Immaturity masquerading as strength is the defining personal characteristic of our age,’ he declared.

Still, Lonsdale defended his remarks, declaring in a follow-up post that his critics ‘don’t realize that I’m the moderate here.’

‘I do believe in second chances and don’t believe in hanging for nonviolent crimes where innocents weren’t hurt multiple times,’ he said, arguing we ‘need sanity in our politics which have gone too far to “criminal let out 70 times kills girl.”‘