Trump Cancels Livestream Plan for Fort Hood Shooter's Execution
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President Donald Trump said Thursday that the planned execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be streamed to the public, reversing a plan the Pentagon had floated days earlier. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the firing-squad execution will go ahead as scheduled on Dec. 3 and that immediate family members of the victims may attend in person if they wish.
The decision followed criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, according to CBS News and NBC News. Some lawmakers warned that a public broadcast could hurt the country's image or help extremists.
How the livestream plan rose and fell
- Nov. 5, 2009: Hasan, then an Army major and psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, according to Fox News. He was later convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32.
- 2013: Hasan acknowledged carrying out the attack at his military trial and represented himself, Fox News reported. He was sentenced to death.
- Earlier this month: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Hasan would be executed at 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, according to CBS News.
- Last week: Hegseth said in an interview that Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers and that the Pentagon would make sure people could watch. CBS News said the interview was with activist Jack Posobiec. Fox News said Hegseth made the remarks Wednesday to Real America's Voice, so reports differ on the venue and timing.
- The following days: Vice President JD Vance said he did not know the livestream would happen and that he would not watch it, according to NBC News. House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News a video could become a recruiting tool for future terrorists.
- Over the weekend: Trump told reporters he would make the final decision, NBC News reported.
- Thursday: Trump announced there would be no stream. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth supports the decision and that the two are "completely aligned," according to CBS News.
What was behind the reversal
In his post, Trump said a stream might have deterred terrorists around the world, but that many well-meaning people would rather not watch Hasan die by any visual means. Critics cited concerns about feeding Hasan's stated desire for martyrdom, and some argued a public execution was contrary to American values, NBC News reported.
NBC News, citing a White House official and a U.S. official, reported that Hegseth's announcement surprised Trump, senior White House staff and Army officials. The U.S. official said the livestream was Hegseth's idea and that Trump initially liked it but changed course after learning more about the case. The White House official said Trump had not known Hasan was paralyzed, and that this factored into his decision. Fox News also reported that Hasan was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement during the attack.
The same U.S. official told NBC News that Army officials had spent months planning a lethal injection at the federal facility at Terre Haute. They then began preparing for a firing squad at Fort Leavenworth, and were surprised again when Fort Hood was chosen.
Why it matters beyond this case
Had the stream gone ahead, the United States would have joined a small group of countries that carry out public executions. According to Amnesty International, as cited by CBS News, Afghanistan and Iran were the only two nations known to have done so last year. The last public execution in the U.S. appears to have taken place in 1936, when an estimated 20,000 people watched the hanging of Rainey Bethea, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
For the public, the decision means no official video of the execution will be available. Only victims' immediate families who choose to attend will see it, according to Trump's post as reported by all three outlets.
The execution would also be the first by the military since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged. It would be the first military firing-squad execution since 1945, when Pvt. Eddie Slovik was put to death, according to NBC News and the Death Penalty Information Center.
What happens next
The execution remains set for Dec. 3. Fox News reported that Hasan could still try to delay it by filing a habeas corpus petition in civilian court, which experts told the outlet could significantly postpone the proceedings. The Pentagon has not released further details about the arrangements, according to the reports.
