The Pentagon said Thursday that Nidal Malik Hasan’s execution by firing squad will be livestreamed. The former Army psychiatrist is scheduled to be executed Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, in what would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
A Pentagon official confirmed the broadcast plans to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Details about how the livestream would be carried were not immediately provided.
Hasan was convicted in 2013 of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others during the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. Army announced Wednesday that Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle had directed the execution the previous day. It is set for 1 p.m. Central Standard Time on Dec. 3, or 2 p.m. Eastern.
If Hasan’s execution proceeds as scheduled, it would end a gap of more than 65 years.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said the execution would be public during an interview with Real America’s Voice. Pentagon officials later clarified that it would be livestreamed, AP reported.
President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s death sentence on Oct. 2, according to the Army. Its announcement said the approval followed completion of the appellate process, which upheld both the conviction and death sentence.
The president alone has authority to approve a military prisoner’s death sentence. Under Army Regulation 190-55, the Army secretary must choose an execution date between 60 and 150 days after presidential approval.
Hasan’s court-martial jury found him guilty on Aug. 23, 2013, and sentenced him to death five days later. The Supreme Court denied his request to review the conviction on March 31, 2025, the Army said.
The regulation also lays out how a military death sentence reaches the president. After a final judgment on the legality of the court-martial proceedings, the Army’s judge advocate general sends the trial record, any clemency petitions and a recommendation to the Army secretary. The secretary adds a recommendation and forwards the material to the secretary of war for a further recommendation to the president.
The last U.S. military execution took place April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, according to an Army historical account. If Hasan’s execution proceeds as scheduled, it would end a gap of more than 65 years.
