Pentagon says Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed

What happened

The U.S. military plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour), ABC News and CBS News all reported the plan. Hasan is scheduled to face a firing squad at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a TV interview that the execution would be public. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," he said, according to all three outlets. Pentagon officials then said the event would be livestreamed and that more details would follow, PBS NewsHour reported.

Reports differed on the interview itself. The AP said Hegseth spoke Wednesday with Real America's Voice News. CBS said he spoke Thursday with Jack Posobiec on Real America's Voice. ABC News attributed the remarks to an interview with Human Events.

The plan for Dec. 3

Approval and timing

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said earlier this week that the plan to use an Army firing squad was recommended by Hegseth and approved by President Donald Trump, CBS News reported. According to ABC News, Hegseth said the 1 p.m. CT start time was picked to match when Hasan began the 2009 attack. He said Fort Hood was chosen because it is where the shooting happened.

Livestream versus Army rules

According to Army regulations cited by ABC News, witnesses to an execution can include victims' families and at least two media outlets. CBS News reported that it is virtually unheard-of in recent U.S. history for the general public to be able to view an execution. CBS said the last public execution in the country appeared to be the 1936 hanging of Rainey Bethea in Kentucky, which reportedly drew around 20,000 people.

Reaction and legal questions

Defense attorney objects

Hasan's civilian attorney, John Galligan, told ABC News the rules are "very specific in terms of the amount of people who are authorized to be present." He described Hegseth's decisions on carrying out the execution as "political theater."

What legal experts said

Geoffrey Corn, a Texas Tech University law professor who served in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps, told CBS News that livestreaming "raises significant moral questions, above and beyond the questions related to the death penalty generally." Experts on military law said Hasan could resist and file a habeas petition in civilian court, which could significantly delay the execution, according to the AP. Eugene R. Fidell, a Yale Law School visiting lecturer, said the process "might outlast the current administration."

The White House referred questions about the livestream to the Pentagon, PBS NewsHour reported. The AP noted that Trump has previously criticized public executions in Iran. For more national coverage, see our Nation section.

Background on the case

Hasan, an Army major, opened fire in a medical building where soldiers were waiting for immunizations and deployment clearance, the AP reported. The AP said he killed 13 people and injured 32. CBS said he was convicted in a 2013 court-martial and sentenced to death. He acted as his own lawyer, and a military judge barred him from arguing he was trying to stop soldiers from going to Afghanistan.

CBS reported that Hasan asked the Supreme Court in 2024 to review his case, arguing his right to a public trial was violated. The court declined to take it up last year.

A rare military execution

ABC News reported the execution would be the first carried out by the U.S. military in more than 60 years. The AP said the last one was the April 13, 1961, hanging of Army Pvt. John Bennett. Hegseth said the military has not used a firing squad since World War II, and CBS pointed to the 1945 execution of Pvt. Eddie Slovik for desertion.

CBS also reported that South Carolina used firing squads three times last year, the first in the country since 2010. The Justice Department said earlier this year that officials should consider other methods, including firing squads and electrocution.

What to watch next

• Pentagon officials said more details about the livestream would follow.
• The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. CT at Fort Hood.
• Experts on military law said Hasan could file a habeas petition in civilian court, which could significantly delay the execution.