The RecordExhibit 137
A livestreamed firing squad execution, announced by the defense secretary
Criticized means: Legal, or a policy choice, but widely condemned.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be public, and the Pentagon said it will be livestreamed. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first public execution in the country since 1936.
What happened
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Oct. 5, 2026 that Trump had approved the execution. In an interview with Real America's Voice aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (the AP dates it Oct. 7; Axios and Al Jazeera say Oct. 8), Hegseth said Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 and that 'we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public'; asked whether Hasan had made final requests, he said he did not care.
On Oct. 8 the Pentagon said the execution will be livestreamed and that details would follow. Hegseth gave his reason as 'people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things'. Al Jazeera reported that the execution is set for 1 p.m., the hour of the 2009 shooting, and that Army regulations limit who may witness a military execution to a list that includes victims and their families, the prisoner's lawyer and at least two news media representatives, with no one under 18; Sen. Jack Reed said opening it to the public would require a waiver from Trump.
A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in 2013 for 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 of attempted murder. The last U.S. military execution was the hanging of Army Pvt. John Bennett on April 13, 1961, and the last public execution in the country was a hanging in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1936. Military law experts told the AP that Hasan can still file a habeas corpus petition in civilian court, which could delay the execution significantly; Eugene Fidell of Yale Law School said the litigation could outlast the administration. The AP reported that the Army has not detailed its firing squad protocol.
Where it stands
No court has ruled on the plan. Lawmakers of both parties condemned it: Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Hasan should be executed but that making it public and streaming it was 'beyond disgusting' and the practice of oppressive dictatorships; Republican Reps. Austin Scott and Rob Bresnahan objected, Scott saying livestreamed executions are what jihadists do; Democratic Sen. Jack Reed called it a barbaric spectacle and a gift to terrorist recruiters and asked the administration to reconsider; and Sen. Chris Murphy asked whether Hegseth was mimicking ISIS executions.
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles backed it. A spokesperson for the UN human rights office told AFP that broadcasting the execution would be tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the decision 'a barbaric promotion of death', and John Mills of the American Bar Association's Due Process Review Committee said the proposal was grotesque and that Hasan has not finished his appeals, making court intervention likely.
On Oct. 9 Trump said he approved the execution but had not decided whether to show it by livestream, and Vice President Vance said he would not watch and doubted the livestream would happen. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said he would defer to Hegseth on whether broadcasters could air it.
The administration's side
Hegseth says making the execution public will show that there are serious consequences for such acts, and that a firing squad of soldiers is the right method for Hasan. Trump said on Oct. 9 that he absolutely approved the execution but had not decided on the livestream. The White House referred questions about the livestream to the Pentagon, which said more details would follow and otherwise declined to comment on Hegseth's remarks.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/hasanstream/