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President Donald Trump said on October 15, 2026, that Nidal Hasan’s scheduled execution by firing squad will proceed without a livestream, reversing an announcement from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that had drawn swift pushback across party lines. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that while streaming the event “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” many “very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.” He added that the execution will take place as planned on December 3 and that immediate families of the victims may view it in person if they choose.
Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 unarmed soldiers and wounded 32 others on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood in Texas while they prepared for deployment overseas, according to military court documents. The attack took place inside a crowded medical building at the base, which was then the largest mass shooting at a U.S. military installation. Hasan was shot by civilian police during the rampage, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, a detail that CNN reported factored into later White House discussions.[[1]](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/15/politics/fort-hood-shooter-execution-livestream-called-off)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had stated earlier in October that the Pentagon would livestream the December 3 execution at Fort Hood, marking what would have been the first broadcast of a U.S. military execution and the first such military death sentence carried out in more than 60 years. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed at the time that Trump had approved the recommendation, though subsequent reporting indicated the president was not fully briefed on the livestream element initially. The proposal stood on uncertain legal ground, as noted by legal experts tracking capital punishment cases.
The plan triggered immediate bipartisan criticism, with Vice President JD Vance publicly stating he would not watch and casting doubt on whether the livestream would occur, according to AP News.[[2]](https://apnews.com/article/trump-fort-hood-execution-9b48781e88660064bf0f5aa020db8df7) House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans expressed reservations, while Democrats and religious leaders argued that footage could be exploited to fuel radicalization among extremists. International observers drew comparisons to public executions in authoritarian regimes, amplifying calls to abandon the broadcast.
Trump consulted advisers after Hegseth’s announcement and learned additional details about Hasan’s condition, which made the visual broadcast less appealing, CNN sources familiar with the talks said.[[3]](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/13/politics/trump-fort-hood-shooter-livestream-execution) A Reuters review of recent polling found that a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming the execution. Trump had previously endorsed the firing squad method itself, describing Hasan as deserving of the penalty during an October 9 public event.
The execution, if carried out on December 3, would coincide with the day of the week, time and location of the original 2009 attack, a detail the Pentagon highlighted in its scheduling. Hasan represented himself during his 2013 court martial, where he expressed that his actions were intended to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Historical data from the Death Penalty Information Center places the last U.S. military execution in 1961, underscoring the rarity of the event now set to move forward without public streaming.
