Trump Reverses Pentagon's Plan to Livestream Nidal Hasan Execution, Limiting Witnesses to Victims' Families
President Trump on Thursday canceled the Pentagon's previously announced plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army officer convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others. Hasan remains scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3, 2026, and Trump said immediate family members of victims will be permitted to witness the execution in person. Trump posted his decision on social media, writing that "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die."
Two sources · Thin corroboration
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced last week that Hasan's execution would be broadcast via livestream, describing his support for a public execution by saying "people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things," according to an interview he gave to Real America's Voice. Trump's reversal Thursday walked back that plan, restricting attendance to immediate family members of victims who choose to be present.
Trump's social media post acknowledged that livestreaming "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan," but said the event would not be streamed. The decision came after pushback from both parties in Congress and from Vice President JD Vance, who told reporters he would not watch and expressed doubt the livestream would proceed, according to the New York Times.
Fox News led its coverage with reactions from Fort Hood survivors who praised the reversal. Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times during the attack, told Fox News Digital the decision "proves that we are a better people, a better nation, and that we're not barbaric." Lunsford also warned that footage of the execution could be exploited by terrorist organizations such as ISIS or al-Qaeda as a recruitment tool. Civilian employee Julia Wilson, who was nine months pregnant during the shooting, said she was "ecstatic" about the decision and raised concerns about the mental health impact on viewers and the risk that footage would remain accessible online indefinitely, including to children.