President Donald Trump said Thursday that the controversial Hasan execution livestream will not go ahead, reversing a Pentagon announcement from last week that the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan would be broadcast to the public. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the execution would proceed as scheduled, but that no cameras would be allowed.
In his post, Trump acknowledged that streaming the execution might have served as a deterrent, writing that many well-meaning people would rather not watch Hasan die through streaming or any other visual device. “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” the president wrote. He added that the immediate families of the victims would be permitted to watch the execution in person.
The reversal followed days of debate inside the administration. CNN reported earlier this week that Trump and his advisers had been discussing whether to cancel the broadcast plan, and that the president had remarked privately that he did not initially know Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down. Sources familiar with the discussions said Trump was not aware that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was announcing the livestream plan last week, and that he was unsure what to make of it at first — though he remained firmly behind the decision to carry out the execution by firing squad.
Public opposition to the Hasan execution livestream was overwhelming. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Thursday found that 80 percent of U.S. adults, including 64 percent of Republicans, said the execution should not be livestreamed. The plan had also drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties, religious leaders, and retired military officers, who warned that a public broadcast would taint the honor of the military and risk turning Hasan into a martyr.
Why the Hasan Execution Livestream Plan Was Scrapped
The decision to drop the Hasan execution livestream plan reflected the scale of the backlash. Hegseth had argued that the public needed to see the consequences of such attacks, but the proposal caught people across the Pentagon and the Army off guard, according to CNN’s earlier reporting. Vice President JD Vance had expressed uncertainty about whether the broadcast would take place and said he would not watch it.
Trump’s announcement on Thursday settled the matter. In his post, he described Hasan as a former Army major turned traitor and a very bad and evil man, making clear that scrapping the Hasan execution livestream changed nothing about the sentence itself.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas — the deadliest non-combat attack on a U.S. military installation. He admitted during his 2013 court-martial that he carried out the shooting.
Bipartisan Opposition Ended the Hasan Execution Livestream
The Hasan execution livestream proposal united critics who rarely agree. Opposition ranged from Catholic bishops, who called the plan a barbaric promotion of a culture of death, to dozens of retired generals and admirals who warned in an open letter that the broadcast would damage the military’s standing.
Human rights groups and international observers also condemned the idea, with the United Nations warning that broadcasting an execution could amount to cruel treatment. The breadth of the criticism left the administration with little room to defend the plan.
Human rights groups and international observers also condemned the idea, with the United Nations warning that broadcasting an execution could amount to cruel treatment. The breadth of the criticism left the administration with little room to defend the plan.
What Happens Next Without the Hasan Execution Livestream
With the Hasan execution livestream canceled, the execution remains scheduled for December 3, according to reports — which would make it the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. Trump emphasized that the reversal affects only the public broadcast, not the date or the method.
The immediate families of the victims will still be able to witness the execution in person if they choose. Trump said they deserved to see justice served, closing the Hasan execution livestream debate.
For now, the firing squad will proceed behind closed doors — a rare public reversal for an administration that had framed the broadcast as a statement about how America treats terrorists.