Pentagon says Fort Hood shooter's firing squad execution will be livestreamed

The U.S. military will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, the Pentagon said Thursday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the conservative outlet Real America's Voice that the public would be able to watch the December 3 execution, describing the method as a "no-brainer."

"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth said. "Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things." A Defense Department official confirmed to the BBC that the execution would be livestreamed, though the platform has not been announced.

Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, walked into a crowded medical processing center at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, shouted "Allahu akbar," and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. He killed 13 unarmed soldiers and wounded 32 others in the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base.

A military jury convicted Hasan of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder in August 2013, and he was sentenced to death. He represented himself at trial, admitted to being the gunman, and called no witnesses in his defense.

First military firing squad since 1945

The execution will be the first by firing squad in the U.S. military since Private Eddie Slovik was executed for desertion in 1945. It will also be the first military execution of any kind since 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged. The Army has not said whether any members of the public will be permitted to attend in person.

Hegseth said the execution would take place at 1 p.m. Central Time on December 3 at Fort Hood, the same time and day of the week as the 2009 shooting. Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth replied, "Don't care. We'll see him on Dec. 3."

Legal experts question whether execution will happen

Hasan's appellate process is not complete, and he could seek review of his conviction and sentence in federal court, which would likely stay the execution. John Mills, a lawyer who works with death row inmates, told the BBC the livestreaming decision is "unprecedented in the modern era" and "on uncertain legal terrain." He said he would be surprised if the execution actually took place.

Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School specializing in military law, called the plan "really unfortunate." "To livestream an execution is just so out of the Middle Ages," he said. "In a way, we are so past that as a society, at least I thought so until today."

No state or federal execution has ever been televised in the United States. The last public execution in the country took place in Owensboro, Kentucky, on August 14, 1936, according to Al Jazeera. Major social media platforms, including Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and X, have policies that prohibit or restrict livestreaming content depicting death.

“We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public. Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things.”

: Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense, in an interview with Real America's Voice