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The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, marking a dramatic development ahead of what would be the first military execution in more than 65 years. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the announcement Wednesday, telling conservative outlet Real America’s Voice News that the public would be able to watch the event. Pentagon officials later clarified that a livestream was planned and that further details would follow.
The Army announced earlier this week that Hasan’s execution by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood on December 3. Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others during a 2009 mass shooting at the military base.
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The 2009 Fort Hood Attack
On November 5, 2009, Hasan walked into a medical building where soldiers were waiting in long lines for immunizations and medical clearance before deployment. He shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great” — and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. He also shot at soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot.
Hasan later said the attack was an effort to stop soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims. During his 2013 trial, a military judge barred him from presenting that claim as a defense. Law enforcement shot Hasan in the back during the attack, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He now uses a wheelchair.
At trial, Hasan fired his lawyers and represented himself. He opened his defense by telling jurors he was the gunman, then said almost nothing for the next three weeks. His court-appointed standby lawyers concluded his only goal was to receive a death sentence. The military called nearly 90 witnesses. However, Hasan rested his case without calling a single witness and made no closing argument. During the trial, he leaked documents to journalists revealing he had told military mental health workers he could “still be a martyr” if executed.
Legal Questions Surround the Livestream Plan
The announcement has drawn sharp reactions from legal experts. Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert and law professor at Fordham University, said livestreaming could make the process “much more transparent.” She added that public awareness of capital punishment is especially relevant now, following the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee. “I think it could possibly be a good idea because it would be transparent and the public would be fully aware that it’s happening,” Denno said.
Denno acknowledged that discussions about the platform hosting the stream and age restrictions would be necessary. Nevertheless, she said the idea is “not such a far-fetched idea” on balance.
In contrast, Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, raised serious concerns. She questioned the administration’s motivations and cited issues around the defendant’s dignity, viewer eligibility and the broader public policy implications. “I don’t recall a situation in which it was instituted by the government,” she said. “This is a president who’s about spectacle and that’s, I think, precisely the message that he intends to deliver.” Semel added she was skeptical the administration had carefully considered the legal and social questions raised by the decision.
Meanwhile, Eugene R. Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School specializing in military law, noted that Hasan could file a habeas petition in civilian court to challenge the legality of his detention. That legal move could significantly delay the execution. “It frankly might outlast the current administration, and who knows if the next one will have the same penchant for executions,” Fidell said.
Concerns Over Legal Notification Process
Attorney John Galligan, a former military judge who represented Hasan in civil matters after his criminal trial, spoke with Hasan on Wednesday. Galligan said he is not representing Hasan in the criminal case but expressed concern about his physical health and his access to legal counsel. According to Galligan, when officials notified Hasan that President Trump had approved his execution, the facility commandant brought a chaplain but no attorney from either the Trial Defense Service or his civilian defense team. Galligan called that a breach of Army regulations.
An Army spokeswoman responded Thursday, saying officials made multiple attempts to contact Trial Defense Service attorneys and made every reasonable effort to adhere to policy. “The civilian counsel was not reasonably available to be physically present for the notification on the 5th,” the spokeswoman said, noting that counsel was located in Virginia. The spokeswoman also confirmed that Hasan has not been prevented from contacting his legal counsel.
Trump, who approved Hasan’s execution, has previously criticized public executions in Iran. At a January 14 press briefing, he told reporters, “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions.” He repeated similar remarks at a White House briefing on January 20. Later, in his State of the Union address, Trump said, “We stopped them from hanging a lot of them with the threat of serious violence.” On Thursday, the White House directed questions about the livestream plan to the Pentagon.
When asked Wednesday whether Hasan had made any final requests or reached out to the administration, Hegseth replied bluntly: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on Dec. 3.” Hegseth also noted that the military has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was executed by hanging. Amnesty International reported in its 2025 executions review that it recorded at least 17 public executions that year — 11 in Iran and 6 in Afghanistan.
