US President Donald Trump has not publicly addressed the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the military execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.
Trump spoke about Hasan’s planned execution during a White House event on Friday, October 9, saying the convicted gunman would face a firing squad. However, he did not comment on the decision to broadcast the execution live, which was announced by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth a day earlier. The White House referred questions about the livestream to the Pentagon.
The execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, the military installation where Hasan carried out the November 2009 shooting. He was convicted by a military jury in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. President Trump approved the execution on October 5.
Hegseth said the government would ensure that members of the public could watch the execution. Pentagon officials later clarified that the event would be livestreamed, although further details about how the broadcast would be organised have not been released.
The announcement has raised legal and ethical questions about whether a military execution should be broadcast to a public audience. US law prohibits recording or broadcasting executions in the federal prison system, but Reuters reported that military regulations do not contain the same explicit prohibition for military executions. The legal implications of the proposed broadcast remain a subject of scrutiny.
The proposal has also drawn criticism from some Republican lawmakers. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina described the idea as “beyond disgusting” and argued that public executions should not take place in the United States. His comments highlight divisions over the administration’s approach, even among members of the president’s own party.
Trump’s silence on the livestream plan has attracted particular attention because he has previously criticised public executions in Iran. The Associated Press reported that Trump had spoken against such executions before authorising Hasan’s death sentence, raising questions about how the administration will explain the decision to broadcast it.
The execution could also face further legal proceedings. Although Hasan has exhausted direct appeals within the military justice system, Reuters reported that he may still challenge his conviction or sentence in a federal civilian court. Such proceedings could delay the scheduled date, potentially for an extended period.
For now, the Pentagon’s livestream plan remains controversial, with questions surrounding its legal basis, purpose and potential public impact. The administration has yet to provide full details of the proposed broadcast, while the possibility of further court action means the December 3 date is not necessarily final.