President Donald Trump cancelled plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. Hasan will be executed by firing squad on 3 December 2026 as scheduled, but the event will not be broadcast publicly.
Trump said on Thursday that "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die." He acknowledged that streaming the execution "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan," but reversed course following widespread criticism from human rights groups and international bodies. The United Nations called the original livestream plan "abhorrent."
The Pentagon announced last week that it would execute Hasan and broadcast the event online. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the plan, saying "people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things." Trump initially said he "absolutely" approved of the livestream while suggesting the Pentagon was still "making a determination" on it.
Hasan opened fire on 5 November 2009 in a crowded medical building at Fort Hood where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines. The attack killed 13 unarmed soldiers and injured 32. Hasan admitted in court that he was the gunman. During his 2013 court-martial, he said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from the US military.
Trump said victim families can still view the execution in person if they wish. Vice-President JD Vance had cast doubt on whether the livestream would occur and said he would not watch it.
John Galligan, a lawyer for Hasan working on civil issues, told the BBC that Trump's reversal "comes as no surprise." He called the original livestream decision "initially a dumb decision" that violated Army regulations. Galligan noted that Hasan is paralysed from the chest down, which Trump "allegedly didn't even know" when he approved the plan. This will be the first US military execution in more than 60 years.