Pentagon Plans to Livestream Firing Squad Execution of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to livestream the firing squad execution of former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a 2009 shooting at the base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be public so that people could see the consequences of such acts.

Hegseth told Real America’s Voice that Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers and that the event would be available for the public to watch. A Pentagon official confirmed the livestream plan. President Trump approved the switch from lethal injection to firing squad. The execution would be the first by the U.S. military since 1961 and the first public execution in the United States in nearly a century.

Vice President JD Vance said he was not certain the livestream would proceed and that he did not plan to watch it. Critics across the political spectrum have questioned the legality and precedent of broadcasting an execution. The Death Penalty Information Center said it had no record of any government-sanctioned execution being livestreamed. Lawyer John Mills described the plan as unprecedented in the modern era and on uncertain legal terrain.

Hasan, a psychiatrist, was radicalized and opened fire on unarmed soldiers preparing for deployment. He represented himself at trial and was sentenced to death. The method was changed to firing squad after a recent botched lethal injection in another case. Hegseth said he did not care about any final requests from Hasan. Platforms such as YouTube and Twitch generally prohibit graphic violence, raising practical questions about how the stream would be hosted.

Public executions ended in the United States in the 1930s. A handful of countries still conduct them, including Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan. The Pentagon statement noted that the broadcast would mark a departure from the long-standing practice of conducting executions out of public view. Supporters of the plan argue it serves as a deterrent; opponents say it risks turning a judicial act into spectacle.

The Army announced the December 3 date at Fort Hood after Hegseth recommended the firing squad and Trump approved it. No final details on the livestream platform have been released. Hasan retains the right to appeal in federal court. The announcement has revived debates over the death penalty, military justice and the boundaries of public access to state violence.

If carried out as described, the event would be the first time the United States has broadcast an execution. Whether courts or technical constraints intervene before December remains open. For now, the Pentagon has stated its intention to make the firing squad visible to anyone who chooses to watch, reversing a century of American practice that kept such moments largely private.