WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to publicly livestream the upcoming execution by firing squad of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, defense officials announced, establishing the first U.S. military execution in more than 65 years as an open public broadcast.
Hasan is set to be put to death at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 at 1:00 p.m., matching the exact time and weekday of the 2009 mass shooting, according to reports from NPR and OK! Magazine. Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, fatally shot 13 people and wounded 32 others inside a deployment processing center on the Texas post before police officers shot and paralyzed him.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated during an appearance on Real America’s Voice that officials wanted to ensure the event remained open to viewers. Hegseth characterized the public aspect as a “no-brainer” intended to underline the repercussions of the assault, OK! Magazine reported. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Hegseth suggested the firing squad method and President Donald Trump formally authorized it.
The execution would be the first carried out by the American armed forces since the April 1961 hanging of Army Pvt. John Bennett, and the military’s first execution by firing squad since World War II.
Mounting backlash across party lines
The choice to stream the lethal punishment over the internet drew immediate resistance from legal scholars, international organizations and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, according to reports by The Guardian US and OK! Magazine.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy denounced the proposal as “disgusting” during an interview on CNN, analogizing the government-produced video to public execution footage circulated by terrorist organizations. Several Republican senators also voiced disapproval. Sen. Thom Tillis posted on X that public executions are practices associated with “oppressive dictators,” writing that such an event “should not be happening in America,” as reported by BBC News.
Sen. John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, likewise urged defense leaders to drop the broadcast, warning on X that modern society degrades when it treats executions as public entertainment. Curtis wrote that while victims merit solemn justice, broadcasting an inmate’s death diminishes the public and fails to deter crime, The Guardian US reported.
Overseas bodies also raised alarms. The United Nations Human Rights Office told Agence France-Presse that broadcasting an execution across digital channels equates to a public execution and infringes upon international rules banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Alonzo Lunsford, an Army veteran who was shot seven times during the 2009 rampage, voiced mixed views on the government’s approach. While Lunsford told media outlets he agrees with utilizing a firing squad as an appropriate punishment, he rejected the online stream, emphasizing to OK! Magazine and the BBC that capital punishment is not entertainment and should not be displayed without restriction.
Legal hurdles and next steps
Legal authorities caution that the December execution date may face substantial court challenges. Eugene R. Fidell, a military law lecturer at Yale Law School, told NPR that Hasan could petition federal civilian courts through a writ of habeas corpus, a move that could extend the timeline past the Trump administration.
Disagreements have already surfaced concerning the inmate’s legal representation. Attorney John Galligan, who previously handled civil matters for Hasan, asserted to NPR that authorities violated military rules by failing to have legal counsel present when Hasan received notice of Trump’s execution order. An Army spokeswoman denied the claim, stating officials made diligent efforts to notify defense attorneys and that Hasan maintains the ability to speak with his legal team.
The Pentagon has not yet released technical specifics regarding the livestream platform or viewer restrictions, and Hasan has not yet indicated whether he will file civilian court challenges to stop the proceedings.
