US President Donald Trump on Thursday scrapped a Pentagon plan to livestream the December 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
In a social media post, Trump said he had overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had announced earlier this month that the execution would be broadcast live from the Fort Hood military base in Texas — the same base where Hasan carried out the attack. A White House official told reporters the president and his advisers had not known about the livestream plan before Hegseth unveiled it in a media interview. No other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions.
Deterrence vs public revulsion
Trump acknowledged that broadcasting the event might have served as a deterrent, but said many well-meaning people would rather not watch Hasan die on a screen. The execution itself will go ahead as scheduled, he said, and the immediate families of the victims may witness it in person, as is standard practice at US executions.
Bipartisan and religious opposition
The livestream proposal had drawn criticism across the political spectrum and from religious leaders. Vice President JD Vance had publicly doubted the broadcast would happen and said he would not watch it. Polls showed a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming the event, while Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of Catholic service members, and Pope Leo raised objections to capital punishment itself.
Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, called the cancellation the right move. Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, described the original plan as a profound failure of moral judgment.
A rare military execution
Hasan, 56, was convicted of premeditated murder in a military trial and sentenced to death in 2013. He was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement during the attack and now uses a wheelchair. His attorney could not be reached for comment, and it remains unclear whether legal challenges could affect the December 3 date.
Sources:
ThePrint/Reuters: "Trump cancels livestream of US military execution for Fort Hood killer"
The Economic Times: "Trump says military execution will not be livestreamed"
In a social media post, Trump said he had overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had announced earlier this month that the execution would be broadcast live from the Fort Hood military base in Texas — the same base where Hasan carried out the attack. A White House official told reporters the president and his advisers had not known about the livestream plan before Hegseth unveiled it in a media interview. No other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions.
Deterrence vs public revulsion
Trump acknowledged that broadcasting the event might have served as a deterrent, but said many well-meaning people would rather not watch Hasan die on a screen. The execution itself will go ahead as scheduled, he said, and the immediate families of the victims may witness it in person, as is standard practice at US executions.
Bipartisan and religious opposition
The livestream proposal had drawn criticism across the political spectrum and from religious leaders. Vice President JD Vance had publicly doubted the broadcast would happen and said he would not watch it. Polls showed a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming the event, while Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of Catholic service members, and Pope Leo raised objections to capital punishment itself.
Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, called the cancellation the right move. Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, described the original plan as a profound failure of moral judgment.
A rare military execution
Hasan, 56, was convicted of premeditated murder in a military trial and sentenced to death in 2013. He was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement during the attack and now uses a wheelchair. His attorney could not be reached for comment, and it remains unclear whether legal challenges could affect the December 3 date.
Sources:
ThePrint/Reuters: "Trump cancels livestream of US military execution for Fort Hood killer"
The Economic Times: "Trump says military execution will not be livestreamed"
