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Trump Reverses Plan to Livestream Hasan Execution

8:08 PM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

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

President Trump reversed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a convicted mass shooter, on December 3. Trump announced the decision in a Truth Social post, stating that while broadcasting the execution could serve as a deterrent, many Americans would prefer not to witness it.

Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. The Pentagon initially planned to livestream the execution, which would have been the first by firing squad since 1945.

The reversal came after a wave of criticism from across the political spectrum. Republican Senator Thom Tillis called livestreaming the execution 'beyond disgusting,' while Representative Austin Scott said it was 'what jihadists do.'

Survivor Alonzo Lunsford, who opposed livestreaming the execution due to concerns about the message it might send to young people, praised Trump's decision. 'The execution should not become a spectacle,' Lunsford said.

The UN also condemned the plan, with UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric calling it 'abhorrent.' Amnesty International reported that 17 public executions were known to have been carried out in Iran and Afghanistan in 2025.

Trump emphasized that Hasan would still be executed as scheduled but would not be broadcast. 'I’m not going to be watching it,' Trump said, stressing that the method of execution should not overshadow the killings for which Hasan was convicted.

Hasan, who survived the attack, told a panel of military mental health experts in 2010 that if he were to be executed, 'I would still be a martyr.' He claimed during his 2013 trial that he carried out the shootings to try to stop what he called a US war on Islam.

The execution will be the first carried out by a US military firing squad since 1961, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The Pentagon had not disclosed the platform or detailed viewing arrangements for the livestream.

Congressman Randy Fine (R-Fla.) supported the plan despite widespread backlash, while Vice President JD Vance said he did not know whether the Pentagon would carry out its plan to livestream the execution.

The reversal reflects a broader debate over the use of capital punishment and the public's role in witnessing such executions. Critics argue that livestreaming such events could desensitize the public to violence and undermine the solemnity of the process.

The Pentagon's decision to livestream the execution had drawn condemnation from the United Nations and lawmakers in both parties, highlighting the contentious nature of the issue.

Background

What's confirmed

• 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.
• The Pentagon plans to livestream the December 3 firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and from lawmakers in both US parties.
• If carried out, it would be the first US military execution since 1961 and the first by military firing squad since 1945.
• 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".
• Fort Hood shooting survivor Alonzo Lunsford called President Trump’s decision to allow victims to witness Nidal Hasan’s execution without livestreaming it to the public a "positive move," arguing the execution should not become a spectacle.

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.
• 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.
• In a social media post, Trump described Hasan as responsible for the deaths of 13 people, including a pregnant soldier and her unborn child, and said 32 others were seriously injured.
• "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".
• "Every day we get up, we come to the VA hospital or we have to take our meds in the morning or we get ready to do something that we normally would have been doing prior to 5 November '09 that we're no longer able to do now, that's a constant reminder," he said.
• Witnesses said he yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before the shooting – which has been classified as a terror attack.
• “The Government’s most solemn responsibility is to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those who commit horrible acts of violence against American citizens,” Trump said in an executive order signed just hours after his second term began.

Sources

• BBClink
• Colombiaonelink
• Livemintlink
• Sanlink
• Devdiscourselink
• Floridianpresslink
• Greaterbelizelink
• Washingtontimeslink
• Thenigerialawyerlink
• Los Angeles Timeslink
• Ejilink
• Straitstimeslink
• WarpBeat — background on Pentagon Reverses Plan to Livestream Hasan Execution link
• WarpBeat — background on Pentagon's Plan to Livestream Execution Draws Religious Leaders' Condemnation link
• The Amateur Law Professor — video link