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Pentagon Says Dec. 3 Firing-Squad Execution of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan Will Be Livestreamed

The Pentagon said Thursday the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be livestreamed, a plan Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed as lawmakers from both parties condemned it. The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since 1961.

By admin Oct. 9, 2026 · 2:40 AM ET 2 min read

Entrance to a U.S. Army base at dawn with an American flag beside an empty access road and guardhouse

The Pentagon said Thursday that the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be livestreamed for the public, according to CNN and USA TODAY.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who recommended the execution and whose recommendation President Donald Trump approved, confirmed the plan after a Pentagon official said Thursday the execution “will be livestreamed,” according to CNN. Hegseth had said in an interview this week that the public should be able to watch, and he affirmed the livestream in a post on X, according to USA TODAY.

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle has set the execution for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. local time at Fort Hood in Texas, according to CNN. Hasan was convicted in July 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder for the Nov. 5, 2009, attack, in which he opened fire at a medical processing center on troops preparing to deploy, according to CNN.

An unprecedented broadcast, and a legal question

USA TODAY reported it could find no record of an execution ever being livestreamed by any government, and the Death Penalty Information Center said it had no such record either. The last documented public execution in the United States was in 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky, according to USA TODAY.

The plan could also test Army rules. CNN reported that Army Regulation 190-55 limits who may witness a military execution and bars minors from watching, though the Army’s provost marshal general may waive provisions of the regulation if the waiver does not violate the law or a higher binding regulation. The military has not carried out an execution since 1961, according to USA TODAY.

Condemnation from both parties

The announcement drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called the plan “beyond disgusting” in a post on X late Thursday, according to CNN, while Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy described public executions as “medieval” on CNN. Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said a livestreamed execution “makes a mockery of our legal system,” according to USA TODAY.

The Pentagon had earlier referred questions about how the execution would be publicized to the Army, which did not respond to CNN. Further details are expected from the Pentagon, according to USA TODAY.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and USA TODAY.

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