The Pentagon has announced plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist responsible for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that claimed 13 lives. This would mark the first time a US execution is broadcast live.
An official from the Pentagon, speaking anonymously, confirmed the livestream and indicated that more details would be released soon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who advocated for Hasan to be executed by firing squad, confirmed the plan in a social media post.
The execution is scheduled for December 3 at the Texas military base where Hasan carried out the attack, using a laser-sighted handgun in a medical facility. If carried out, it would be the first US military firing squad execution since 1945.
This announcement comes amid renewed scrutiny of the death penalty in the US, following a recent botched lethal injection in Tennessee. Historically, media efforts to televise executions have been blocked by courts, and no other country is known to livestream legal executions, experts note.
Public executions have become extremely rare globally, with only a few countries such as Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan reportedly conducting them in recent years. In the US, extrajudicial lynchings by white mobs targeting Black Americans were public spectacles into the 20th century, with the last legal public execution occurring in 1936.
Hegseth explained on a radio program that scheduling Hasan’s execution by firing squad on a Thursday at 1 p.m.—the approximate time and day of the original shooting—was an obvious choice. He emphasized the importance of making the execution public to demonstrate the serious consequences of such crimes.
When asked about any final requests from Hasan, Hegseth responded dismissively, stating, “Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3.”
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in August 2013 after being convicted of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. The shooting occurred weeks before his planned deployment to Afghanistan. Hasan was partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair after being shot by police during his arrest.
Under US military law, the president must approve executions by firing squad. Former President Donald Trump granted this approval following Hegseth’s recommendation. The White House declined to comment on whether Trump supports livestreaming, directing inquiries to the Pentagon.
The group Death Penalty Action noted that Hasan’s execution would be the first military execution since 1961, which was carried out by hanging. The last US military firing squad executions date back to 1945.
Legal experts expressed surprise at the decision to livestream the execution. Eugene Fidell, a military law specialist, said it would be unprecedented and that Hasan would likely need to pursue federal court action to block the public broadcast. He also noted that the Supreme Court has never ruled on this issue.
Military justice historian Jonathan Lurie questioned the purpose of making the execution public, asking who would want to watch it.
Currently, at least five US states authorize firing squads as a method of execution. South Carolina conducted the first such execution in 15 years in 2025. The Trump administration recently expanded federal execution methods to include firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation, partly due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.
The death penalty has faced recent challenges, including a failed lethal injection in Tennessee last week. The inmate, Christa Pike, survived the attempt but remains hospitalized and shackled, with her lawyers reporting she is “angry and confused.”
