Trump Cancels Planned Livestream of Nidal Hasan Execution by Firing Squad

President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The execution by firing squad remains scheduled for 1 p.m. on December 3 at the same base where the attack occurred, but it will not be broadcast.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that streaming the execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” yet “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.” He added that Hasan “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” Immediate family members of the victims may still attend in person.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced the livestream last week. The proposal drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, retired military officers, religious leaders, and some survivors of the shooting. Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch and expressed doubt that the broadcast would proceed. A group of 72 retired generals and admirals publicly urged the administration to drop the plan.

White House officials later said Trump and his advisers had not been fully aware of the livestream details when Hegseth announced them. One official noted that Trump learned after the announcement that Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down. The president’s stated concern was whether a televised execution would actually deter future attacks. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Trump and Hegseth spoke before the cancellation and remain aligned.

Hasan’s execution will be the first military execution in more than 60 years. He was convicted in a military court of the November 5, 2009, attack, in which he opened fire inside a processing center at Fort Hood. No other country is known to livestream judicial executions. The reversal marks a rare public instance in which Trump overruled a high-profile initiative from one of his closest cabinet members after sustained external pressure.

The decision leaves the execution itself intact while removing the element that had generated the widest backlash. Families of the victims retain the option to witness it. Whether the cancellation alters any broader debate over capital punishment or military justice remains outside the scope of Thursday’s announcement.