President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the Pentagon will not livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. The execution itself remains scheduled, but the previously planned public broadcast has been canceled.
Trump disclosed [1] the decision on social media while describing Hasan as a “traitor” and “a very bad and evil man.” His announcement made clear that the change applies to the livestream, not the planned execution.
The president said broadcasting the event “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan.” Even so, the administration will not move forward with airing the execution.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump made clear. The statement settled the immediate question surrounding public access to the scheduled December 3 execution.
Before the cancellation was announced, Hegseth had publicly argued that people should be allowed to watch the execution. His comments presented public access as a way for people to see the consequences attached to such acts.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public,” Hegseth said. The statement reflected the earlier plan to make the military execution available for public viewing through a livestream.
Hegseth also said, “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” Trump’s later announcement removed the broadcast component while leaving the firing squad execution in place.
Hasan carried out the 2009 attack at a military base in Texas, killing 13 people and injuring another 32. During the atrocity, he shouted, “Allahu Akbar.”
The planned firing squad execution on December 3 would be the first military execution in more than 60 years. That historic distinction, combined with the proposed livestream, triggered widespread public debate from both supporters and opponents.
The original plan drew condemnation from the United Nations and Amnesty International. Both organizations opposed the proposal before Trump publicly announced that the event would not be streamed.
Religious opposition also came from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The organization called the planned broadcast “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”
Hillary Clinton offered a similarly blunt description of the idea. She called the proposal “barbaric,” joining the criticism directed at making the firing squad execution publicly viewable.
The debate unfolded against the fact that the United States last staged a public execution in the 1930s. The Pentagon livestream would have brought public viewing into a modern format, but Trump’s announcement ended that portion of the plan.
Trump nevertheless suggested that allowing the world to watch could have served as a powerful warning. His social media statement framed Hasan as the kind of terrorist and criminal whose punishment could demonstrate how America responds to such acts.
The final arrangement now separates the execution from the proposed public spectacle. Hasan is still scheduled to die by firing squad on December 3, but viewers will not be able to watch through a Pentagon livestream.