President Donald Trump on Thursday overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and said the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will not be livestreamed. The decision followed bipartisan criticism of the plan.
In a social media post, Trump called Hasan “a very bad and evil man” and acknowledged that a public livestream “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to see how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan.” He added that “many good and very well meaning people would rather not watch him die.” The execution, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, will not be streamed, though immediate family members of the victims may watch in person.
Hegseth had raised the idea of a livestreamed firing squad during an Oct. 8 interview on Real America’s Voice, conducted aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln after its return from a Middle East deployment. He said Hasan would face “a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be,” and that the event should be public so people understand “there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” The Pentagon later confirmed the livestream plan the same day.
The proposal drew condemnation from elected officials in both major parties, religious authorities, human rights organizations, and a group of 72 retired generals, admirals, and other senior officers. In an open letter released Wednesday, the retired officers called broadcasting the execution “barbaric,” said it would “taint the honor of the military,” and warned it would make “a martyr” of Hasan.
Survivors of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre praised President Donald Trump's decision not to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, after warning that broadcasting his death could turn the execution into a spectacle and hand terrorist groups a propaganda tool.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan, a U.S.-born American citizen of Palestinian descent, opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, where troops were completing final medical checks before deployment. He killed 12 active-duty soldiers and one retired chief warrant officer and wounded 31 others before Army police officers shot and wounded him.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan, a U.S.-born American citizen of Palestinian descent, opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, where troops were completing final medical checks before deployment. He killed 12 active-duty soldiers and one retired chief warrant officer and wounded 31 others before Army police officers shot and wounded him.
Hasan later said he was targeting soldiers headed to Afghanistan to protect the Taliban. A military jury convicted him in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and additional attempted-murder counts and unanimously recommended the death penalty. He has since been held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Now 56, Hasan is a paraplegic from injuries sustained in the attack.