Fort Hood killer faces firing squad as livestream plan divides US
WASHINGTON — US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan, opening a dispute over whether the government should broadcast a prisoner’s death. President Donald Trump subsequently said he would make the ultimate decision on showing the execution, leaving the broadcast uncertain despite the Pentagon’s announcement.
The US Army has scheduled Hasan’s execution for 3 December at 1pm Central Standard Time at Fort Hood, Texas, where he carried out the 2009 attack. An official Army statement said acting Army Secretary Adam Telle directed the execution by firing squad on 6 October. The announcement establishes the scheduled date and method, separately from the contested livestream proposal.
Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, was convicted by a military court of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He attacked a medical processing facility where troops were preparing for deployment and was sentenced to death in 2013. If carried out, the execution would be the US military’s first since 1961.
Hegseth defended allowing the public to watch as a demonstration of the consequences of such crimes. A Pentagon official confirmed the livestream plan to Reuters, although details of how the broadcast would operate were not provided. Reuters described the proposal as an unprecedented broadcast of a US execution.
Trump’s subsequent intervention qualified that announcement. Speaking on Saturday, he said there were arguments for showing the execution and for withholding it, while suggesting that a broadcast might deter others. His comments left the administration’s final position unresolved. Vice-President JD Vance had also expressed uncertainty about whether the livestream would happen and said he would not watch it.
Opposition has included Republicans who distinguish support for Hasan’s death sentence from support for broadcasting it. Senator Thom Tillis condemned the livestream proposal, while retired Admiral William McRaven argued that a public execution would undermine American values and risk giving terrorists the attention they seek. Their objections concern the proposed spectacle as well as its potential consequences.
The controversy has reached beyond the United States. Australian officials have raised concerns about access to the proposed stream and the responsibility of online platforms to protect audiences from distressing content. No distribution platform has been publicly confirmed in the reporting reviewed.
Hasan may still seek relief through the civilian federal courts, according to Associated Press reporting. For now, the Army has set an execution date, while the decision to broadcast it remains subject to Trump’s stated review and any subsequent legal developments.
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