Fort Hood shooter's execution: Trump officials reportedly lean against livestream
After criticism even from Republicans, the Trump administration is leaning against livestreaming Nidal Hasan's firing-squad execution, CBS reported. Trump has not yet decided.
Archive image · Photo: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994 / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Trump administration officials are leaning against livestreaming the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, CBS News reported Tuesday evening, citing people familiar with the discussions. President Donald Trump had not made a final decision, according to two sources. Asked about it, Trump said only: "We're looking at it." The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately comment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that the firing-squad execution, set for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, would be made public: "He's going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be." The plan has drawn opposition, including from Republicans. Sen. John Curtis of Utah wrote that "broadcasting a death diminishes us and is not an effective deterrent." House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly warned that a video could become a terrorist recruiting tool. Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch.
Hasan, a former Army major, killed 13 people and wounded 32 at the Texas base in 2009. Death penalty supporters point to the gravity of the crime, while critics reject a public spectacle; Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said it is "certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle."