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Pentagon Reverses Plan to Livestream Hasan Execution

1:10 PM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

In Short: President Trump reversed Defense Secretary Hegseth's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a convicted mass shooter.

According to the BBC (United Kingdom), Hegseth initially argued that livestreaming the execution would act as a deterrent against future attacks. However, Trump acknowledged in a Truth Social post that many Americans would rather not witness Hasan's death, stating, 'I’m not going to be watching it,' while emphasizing that the execution would still proceed.

Straitstimes (Singapore) reported that Vice President JD Vance expressed uncertainty about whether the Pentagon would livestream the execution, noting that the plan had drawn broad condemnation. The UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, described the possibility of a government executing someone in public or via live cameras as 'abhorrent.'

The BBC (United Kingdom) and Straitstimes (Singapore) both reported that Hasan, an American-born Muslim, claimed during his 2013 trial that he carried out the shootings to try to stop what he called a US war on Islam. Hasan survived the attack and told a panel of military mental health experts in 2010 that if he were to be executed, he would still be a martyr.

Both outlets noted that the execution would be the first carried out by a U.S. military firing squad since 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The Pentagon's announcement to livestream the execution drew support from Congressman Randy Fine (R-Fla.), despite widespread backlash.

The BBC (United Kingdom) reported that one survivor of the Fort Hood attack opposed livestreaming the execution due to concerns about the message it might send to young people. Jennifer Griffin, Fox News chief national security correspondent, noted that the last military execution was in 1961, and the last by firing squad was in 1945.

Straitstimes (Singapore) reported that Senator John Curtis wrote on social media that 'a civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment.' Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said that while he agreed Hasan should face the death penalty, livestreaming it would be 'beyond disgusting.'

Both the BBC (United Kingdom) and Straitstimes (Singapore) reported that the Pentagon's announcement to livestream the execution had drawn condemnation from the United Nations and lawmakers in both US parties.

The BBC (United Kingdom) and Straitstimes (Singapore) agreed that the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan had faced significant backlash, with concerns raised about the message it might send and the ethical implications of broadcasting such an event.

Despite the controversy, Trump's decision to reverse the plan to livestream the execution underscores the sensitivity of the issue and the public's reaction to such a spectacle.

Background

What's confirmed

• UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during Friday's press briefing in New York that the "possibility of…a government executing someone in public or in front of live cameras, frankly, is abhorrent".
• Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.
• Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin looks at the history of the firing squad being used in the United States and debates over the plan to stream Nidal Hasan’s execution on ‘Special Report.’ President Donald Trump announced that the planned firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, reversing an earlier Pentagon announcement that the public would be able to watch the convicted mass killer's final moments.
• 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.
• Vice President JD Vance said on Friday he does not know ​whether the Pentagon will carry out its plan to livestream the execution by firing squad of ‌the former ​US Army psychiatrist convicted in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting, a plan that has drawn broad condemnation.
• Hasan, an American-born Muslim, said during his 2013 trial that he carried out the shootings to try to stop what he called a US war on Islam.
• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the execution would be public.
• The execution will be the first carried out by a U.S. military firing squad since 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

What's still developing

• Hasan, a native of Virginia, admitted to fatally shooting 13 unarmed soldiers in a crowded medical building on Fort Hood, a US military base in Texas, in 2009.
• Eleven public executions were known to have been carried out in Iran in 2025 and another six in Afghanistan, according to Amnesty International.
• Nidal Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist from Virginia, is due to be put to death on 3 December.
• "We don't allow extremely graphic, violent, or disturbing content—especially when it could cause viewers emotional distress."
• Galligan told the BBC that the event is being treated like a "carnival" and is the "closest thing to a lynch mob mentality that we used to see in the olden days".
• “Showing it live is tantamount … to it being public, and could be a violation of the prohibition against torture,” Dujarric said.
• Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
• In an official announcement issued on October 7, Army Public Affairs said Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle directed the execution by firing squad on October 6.
• A Pentagon official subsequently confirmed the livestream plan, although the authorities had not disclosed the platform or detailed viewing arrangements.
• Witnesses said he yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before the shooting – which has been classified as a terror attack.
• He told reporters he would not watch a live-stream of the execution, which is scheduled for Dec 3.

Sources

• BBClink
• Equal Justice Initiativelink
• Livemintlink
• Los Angeles Timeslink
• Devdiscourselink
• Colombiaonelink
• Floridianpresslink
• Greaterbelizelink
• Washingtontimeslink
• Thenigerialawyerlink
• Sanlink
• Straitstimeslink
• WarpBeat — background on Pentagon's Plan to Livestream Execution Draws Religious Leaders' Condemnation link
• WarpBeat — background on US to Livestream Hasan's Execution by Firing Squad link
• 11Alive — video link