The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that the firing squad execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, making the December 3 proceeding the first publicly viewable U.S. military execution in nearly a century.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in an interview with Jack Posobiec of Real America’s Voice, described the decision as straightforward. “No brainer,” Hegseth said. “Execution by firing squad. Army major betrays his country, radical Islamist, kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of course we’re gonna do it at Fort Hood. Gonna do it on a Thursday. We’re gonna do it at one o’clock, which is when he did it. And it’s gonna be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad.”
Hegseth added that the public nature of the event was intentional. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” He noted it would mark the first Army firing squad execution since World War II and criticized the prior administration’s characterization of the attack as “workplace violence.”
The Army announced the date and location earlier this week after President Donald Trump approved the death sentence on October 2. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle set the execution for 1 p.m. Central Time on December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, the same post where the shootings occurred. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that Hegseth recommended the firing squad method, which the president approved, calling it judgment day for the convicted terrorist.
Hasan, then an Army psychiatrist, opened fire on November 5, 2009, inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood as troops prepared for deployments. Witnesses reported that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” while firing. The attack killed 13 people, 12 soldiers and one civilian, and wounded 32 others. Hasan was shot and paralyzed by responding officers. A military jury convicted him in 2013 on multiple counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder and sentenced him to death. Appellate review concluded with the Supreme Court declining further review in 2025.
If carried out, the execution would be the first by the U.S. military since 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged, and the first by firing squad since the 1945 execution of Pvt. Eddie Slovik for desertion. The Pentagon said further details on the livestream would follow. Families of victims were notified of the date and location by email, according to reports.
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