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Pentagon to Livestream Fort Hood Shooter's Execution by Firing Squad
Confirmed
In Short: The Pentagon announced it will livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people in 2009.
The Pentagon has announced that it will livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. The execution, set for December 3, will be carried out by firing squad, a method not used by the U.S. military since 1961.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News that the execution will be public and livestreamed, emphasizing that people need to understand the serious consequences of such actions.
Hegseth said the execution will take place at Fort Hood, the site of the 2009 shooting, and will occur at 1 p.m. CT on December 3, coinciding with the time Hasan began his attack. The decision to livestream the execution has been met with criticism from some quarters.
John Galligan, a retired Army colonel and former military judge who has represented Hasan for years as a civilian attorney, criticized the Army for scheduling the execution close to the earliest date allowed under regulations. He said officials are pushing to get the execution done as quickly as possible.
Galligan also expressed concern over the decision to carry out the execution at Fort Hood, citing medical concerns for Hasan, who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair as a result of military officers who subdued him during the shooting.
The last widely recognized public execution in the U.S. was carried out in Kentucky in 1936. Public executions were once common in the U.S., but states began restricting and abolishing the practice in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.
Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle set the execution in an order issued on October 6, and President Donald Trump had approved the execution of Hasan earlier in the week.
The Army regulations for executions allow for witnesses to include families of the victims and at least two media outlets. Galligan told ABC News on Thursday that the decisions Hegseth has made to implement the execution are 'political theater.'
What this adds
The Pentagon's decision to livestream the execution marks a significant departure from previous practices and raises questions about the transparency and public nature of such executions.
Background
President Donald Trump has approved the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, by a U.S. Army firing squad, the Pentagon announced Monday night.
What's confirmed
- The execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be live-streamed, a Pentagon official told ABC News on Thursday.
- President Donald Trump ordered the Army to execute Hasan, which would be its first execution since 1961, and to do so by firing squad.
- The public will be able to watch the execution of a former US Army major by firing squad, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.
- Updated on: October 8, 2026 / 7:56 PM EDT / CBS News The U.S. military plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the ex-Army major who was convicted of the 2009 killing of 13 people at Fort Hood, when he faces a firing squad on Dec. 3, a Pentagon official said.
- According to Army regulations for executions, witnesses can include families of the victims and at least two media outlets. The execution's time and place -- 1 p.m. CT at Fort Hood -- was intentional, Hegseth said. It was chosen to coincide with when Hasan began the 2009 attack, while Fort Hood was picked as the site because it was where the shooting took place. Galligan told ABC News on Thursday that the decisions Hegseth has made to implement the execution are "political theater."
- On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News that the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.
- “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public. Because people need to understand that... there’s serious consequences for these types of thing,” Hegseth said.
- Hegseth said 'We'll make sure that people are able to watch it', according to reports Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan’s execution by firing squad will be streamed live, the Pentagon has confirmed.
What's still developing
- “I am 100% committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan,” he told The Hill in September last year.
- Following his conversation yesterday with Hasan, Galligan said filing for a habeas petition is “a distinct possibility,” but that they have not yet made a final decision on how they will proceed.
- In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a War Department official said the execution will be livestreamed and that further details will follow in the near future.
- “Our success this year is a testament to the disciplined execution of our elite recruiting force on the streets of America,” said Maj.
- According to rights group Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions are known to have been carried out last year -- six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.
Sources
- Reuterslink
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
- BBClink
- Baller Alertlink
- CBS Newslink
- Fox Newslink
- Houston Public Medialink
- KAKElink
- NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worthlink
- NBC Newslink
- Rolling Stonelink
- San Antonio Express-Newslink
- South China Morning Postlink
- The Guardianlink
- WHEC.comlink
- Washingtonexaminerlink
- NBC News — video link