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Pentagon Plans Public Livestream of Military Execution
Confirmed
In Short: The Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, has sparked bipartisan backlash.
The execution, set for December 3, will be the first carried out by a U.S. military firing squad since 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Critics argue that the public and livestreamed execution could inspire more acts of terrorism and undermine support for the death penalty.
Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said the decision was 'barbaric' and 'must be reconsidered,' citing Romans 12:17.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, called the livestream plan 'disturbing and a mockery of our legal system.'
Conservative talk show host Erick Erickson, who supports the death penalty, warned that the public execution would give Hasan the 'platform for martyrdom he wants.'
Ned Price, former State Department spokesman, said the livestream would 'create more radicalized zealots' and 'undermine support for the death penalty.'
Legal experts noted that Hasan could delay his execution by years if he files a habeas corpus appeal in federal court.
If carried out as planned, this would mark the first known broadcast or livestream of a lawful execution.
Critics argue that public executions are a tactic used by oppressive dictatorships and should not be practiced in America.
Hegseth defended the decision, calling it a 'no brainer' punishment for a 'radical Islamist terror attack' on U.S. service members.
The Pentagon's announcement has drawn intense criticism both domestically and internationally, with many questioning the morality and effectiveness of such a public execution.
What this adds
The plan to livestream the execution has intensified debates over the death penalty and its impact on national security and public perception.
The Pentagon's decision to livestream the execution is unprecedented and has raised significant moral and legal questions.
Background
The Pentagon's announcement to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the first military execution since 1961, has sparked intense criticism both domestically and internationally.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the first military execution since World War II, set for December 3 at Fort Hood.
What's confirmed
- Hegseth told Real America's Voice the execution would be public "because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
- "In no way can [Hasan's] actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered. The word of God exhorts us: 'do not repay anyone evil for evil,'" the archbishop said, citing Romans 12:17.
- "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America."
- "I mean, I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public executions is medieval. It's frankly one of the things that we abhor about terrorist groups. And the fact that the United States is doing it — I just learned this, that is just absolutely extraordinary, galling. No matter whether you support or oppose the death penalty, public hangings and executions? That's what America has become?"
- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the execution would be public.
- Set us as preferred In confirming his plans to livestream Ft. Hood mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan’s military execution by firing squad on Dec. 3, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called it a “no brainer” punishment for a “radical Islamist terror attack” on U.S. service members.
- “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” he said.
What's still developing
- Updated on: October 9, 2026 / 9:04 PM EDT / CBS News Washington — The revelation that the Pentagon plans to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the ex-Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, has sparked intense pushback, with one Republican senator calling it "disgusting" and critics warning it could inspire more acts of terrorism.
- "not something you should view for entertainment purposes."
- "Or take it from AQ and ISIS, whose tactics offer the closest modern-day approximation of Hegseth's proposal. Either way, it's hard to conjure a more vivid example of his trademark performative bravado, which routinely damages America's image and, in this case, so ghoulishly leaves us more vulnerable."
- "You can take it from those of us who've spent years working on terrorism: the surest way to spawn more radicalized zealots is to glorify violence, embrace a cult of death, and create a martyr for the cause," Price wrote on X.
- "raises significant moral questions, above and beyond the questions related to the death penalty generally."
- "A civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment. Secretary Hegseth's plan to livestream the Fort Hood execution risks feeding that appetite. The victims deserve justice administered with solemnity. Broadcasting a death diminishes us and is not an effective deterrent. I urge him to reconsider."
- "The public imagery of a firing squad killing a man sitting in a chair because he cannot stand is going to undermine support for the death penalty. A society that increasingly finds ways to sympathize with the villains will do so here. This also gives Nidal Hasan the platform for martyrdom he wants. They'll be passing out the livestream video in the Middle East to inspire more terrorists to shoot up Americans to celebrate the glory of the martyrdom of Nidal Hasan."
- Witnesses said he yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before the shooting – which has been classified as a terror attack.
- The Pentagon says it will livestream the planned military execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
- What the US is turning to is a certain news channel starting with an “F”.
- US Vice-President JD Vance has cast doubt over whether the Pentagon will live stream the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of a deadly shooting at Fort Hood in 2009 However, a White House official has said US President Donald Trump "doesn't oppose the idea".
- The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 after Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009.