Pentagon Says Livestream Will Show Execution of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has confirmed that the planned firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will be livestreamed. The announcement has drawn renewed attention to the military death penalty and raised questions about the decision to make an execution available for public viewing.
The clarification came Thursday, following comments by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said a day earlier that the execution would be “public.” Pentagon officials subsequently confirmed that it would be livestreamed, although further details about the arrangements were not immediately available.
The Army announced earlier this week that Hasan’s execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in the November 2009 attack at the military installation.
Speaking to the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice on Wednesday, Hegseth said officials would ensure that people could watch the execution. The Pentagon’s confirmation has since prompted debate over the legal, ethical and public policy implications of broadcasting an execution, particularly one carried out by firing squad.
Experts Debate Whether Livestreaming an Execution Is Appropriate
Legal experts and death penalty specialists have offered differing views on the plan, with some arguing that livestreaming could increase transparency while others question the government’s reasons for making the execution a public event.
Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School who specializes in military law, said Hasan could challenge the execution through a habeas petition in civilian court. Such a petition asks a court to examine the legality of a person’s detention or continued confinement and could potentially delay the scheduled execution.
Fidell noted that legal proceedings could continue for an extended period, possibly beyond the current administration. He also questioned whether a future administration would take the same approach to carrying out military executions.
Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor and death penalty expert, said livestreaming could give the public a clearer understanding of how capital punishment is carried out. She argued that greater transparency could be particularly relevant following renewed scrutiny of execution procedures after a botched lethal injection involving Christa Pike in Tennessee.
Denno suggested that allowing the public to see the process could help people better understand what an execution involves.
However, other experts raised concerns about the possibility of turning an execution into a spectacle.
Brenner Fissell, a professor at Villanova Law and vice president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said firing squads are increasingly discussed as an alternative to lethal injection. Some states have faced difficulties obtaining execution drugs and finding medical professionals willing to participate in lethal injections.
Fissell said firing squads can, in some circumstances, provide a quicker and more precise method of execution. However, he questioned whether practical considerations were driving the Pentagon’s decision, suggesting that the military symbolism associated with firing squads could also be part of the message officials want to convey.
Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, said the announcement raises important questions about the dignity and privacy of the condemned person, who would be permitted to watch the broadcast and the government’s reasons for choosing this approach.
Semel noted that although televising executions has been discussed for years, she could not recall a comparable situation in which the government itself initiated the plan. She questioned what officials hoped to achieve by making the execution a public event.
She also suggested that the decision could reflect the Trump administration’s broader emphasis on political spectacle, while expressing concern that the legal and social consequences might not have received sufficient consideration.
Trump Has Previously Criticized Public Executions in Iran
The planned livestream has also drawn attention because President Donald Trump has previously criticized public executions in Iran.
In January, Trump referred to reports that the Iranian government was stopping the killing of protesters. He told reporters on January 14 that executions were no longer planned.
Trump returned to the issue during his State of the Union address shortly before the United States launched military action against Iran on February 28. He said his administration had helped prevent the hanging of numerous people by threatening serious consequences.
Trump approved Hasan’s execution, but the contrast between his criticism of public executions in Iran and the Pentagon’s plan to livestream a U.S. military execution has prompted further questions.
The White House directed questions about the livestreaming arrangements to the Pentagon on Thursday.
Asked on Wednesday whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted the Trump administration, Hegseth responded dismissively, saying he would see Hasan on December 3.
What Happened in the 2009 Fort Hood Shooting?
Hasan was an Army psychiatrist holding the rank of major when he carried out the shooting at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009.
He entered a medical building where soldiers were waiting to receive immunizations and medical clearance before deployment. He shouted “Allahu akbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great,” and opened fire with a handgun equipped with a laser sight.
He also shot at soldiers as they fled toward a nearby parking lot. The attack left 13 people dead and 32 others injured.
During the case, Hasan said his actions were intended to prevent soldiers from going to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims. A military judge barred him from presenting that argument as a defense during his 2013 trial.
Hasan was shot in the back by law enforcement during the incident and was left paralyzed from the waist down. He now uses a wheelchair.
Will Hasan Challenge the Execution?
It remains unclear whether Hasan will pursue legal action to delay his execution.
During his trial, Hasan dismissed his lawyers and represented himself. At the beginning of his defense, he acknowledged that he was the gunman. He then offered little further defense over the following three weeks, leading his standby lawyers to believe that he wanted to receive a death sentence.
Prosecutors called nearly 90 witnesses. Hasan, by contrast, presented no defense witnesses and delivered no closing argument.
Documents he provided to journalists during the trial also revealed that he had told military mental health workers he could still become a martyr if he were executed.
Although Hasan could seek additional legal review, his conduct during the trial has left uncertainty about whether he will attempt to challenge the sentence.
Lawyer Raises Concerns About Hasan’s Access to Counsel
John Galligan, a former military judge who represented Hasan in several civil matters after the criminal trial, spoke with him on Wednesday. Galligan is not currently representing Hasan in the criminal case and said he could not disclose many details of their conversation.
However, he expressed concern about Hasan’s physical health under the execution plan and said Hasan had not yet had access to legal counsel in connection with the latest developments.
According to Galligan, Hasan told him that the commandant of the facility brought a chaplain to notify him that Trump had approved the execution but did not bring an attorney from either the Army Trial Defense Service or Hasan’s civilian defense team.
Galligan argued that this could violate Army regulations.
An Army spokeswoman disputed the suggestion that officials had failed to follow the required procedures. She said the Army made multiple attempts to contact Trial Defense Service attorneys and took reasonable steps to comply with its policies.
The spokeswoman said Hasan’s civilian lawyer was not reasonably available to attend the notification in person on the fifth. She added that the lawyer was based in Virginia but did not identify the attorney.
She also denied that Hasan had been prevented from contacting or communicating with his legal counsel.
Military Executions and the History of the Death Penalty
Hegseth has said the military has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged.
The prospect of Hasan’s execution therefore represents a significant development in the history of the U.S. military death penalty, particularly given the planned livestream.
Amnesty International reported that it documented at least 17 public executions worldwide in 2025, including 11 in Iran and six in Afghanistan.
As the December 3 date approaches, Hasan’s case is expected to remain the subject of legal and public debate. Questions surrounding possible appeals, access to legal representation and the decision to livestream the execution could shape how the case proceeds in the coming weeks.
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