Trump cancels plan to livestream Fort Hood shooter's firing squad execution

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist responsible for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will not be broadcast online. The decision reverses a Pentagon plan that had been criticized in the United States and internationally.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the execution itself would proceed on schedule, BBC News reported. "He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed," the president wrote, according to the BBC. He argued that showing it might have discouraged others but acknowledged that many people did not want to see it.

PBS NewsHour, citing the Associated Press, reported that the Pentagon has scheduled the execution for December 3. Trump said relatives of those killed can be present to witness it if they wish. According to the BBC, it will be the first execution carried out by the U.S. military in over 60 years.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth first announced that the execution would be open to the public, and the Pentagon then said it would be streamed. The AP report published by PBS said lawmakers from both parties objected, with some cautioning that the video might be used to radicalize people. The BBC reported objections from human rights organizations as well, and said the United Nations called the plan abhorrent.

The BBC reported that Hegseth had defended streaming the execution as a way to show the consequences of such crimes. Following Trump's reversal, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth had talked with the president in advance and supported the change.

Vice President JD Vance had previously expressed doubt that the stream would happen. "If it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it," Vance said, according to PBS.

John Galligan, an attorney who represents Hasan mostly on civil issues, told the BBC he was not surprised by the reversal. He said the streaming plan broke Army rules and pointed out that Hasan cannot move below his chest. Galligan said he did not know whether Hasan had been told about the decision.

The attack took place on November 5, 2009, when Hasan began shooting in a busy medical facility at the Texas base, where troops about to deploy had gathered for exams and shots. The BBC reported that 13 unarmed service members died and 32 people were injured, making it the worst attack outside of combat ever carried out on an American base. During his 2013 military trial, Hasan admitted to the shooting and said his aim had been to defend Muslims and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan against American forces.

Under U.S. military law, the BBC noted, a military execution needs the president's approval and must undergo review by a higher court. Citing Amnesty International, the BBC said Iran and Afghanistan were the only countries known to have held public executions in 2025.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC News and PBS NewsHour. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/147