WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will not livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution after all. President Donald Trump called the plan off on Thursday, a week after his defense secretary had announced it.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, is set to die by firing squad at Fort Hood on Dec. 3. He was convicted of the 2009 shooting at the Texas base that killed 13 people. Another 32 were injured, USA TODAY reported.
Trump made the announcement himself, in a Truth Social post.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,”
A few details have not changed. The time is still 1 p.m., the same time as the 2009 attack, on the same day of the week. What changed is the audience. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Oct. 8 that the Pentagon would livestream the execution; now it will not.
The pushback started almost at once. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not watch, and he worried a broadcast could help future attackers recruit. Vice President JD Vance would not watch either. He had doubted the livestream would ever happen.
Retired military leaders joined in. More than 70 of them signed an open letter on Oct. 14 opposing the broadcast in strong terms, USA TODAY reported.
Voters were against it too, by a wide margin. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Thursday put opposition at 80% of U.S. adults. Among Republicans, it was 64%, CNN reported.
One group will still be able to attend. Trump said victims’ immediate families may watch in person if they want to. The Pentagon, asked for comment, did not immediately respond, USA TODAY reported.
If the execution goes ahead on Dec. 3, it will be a first for the Army in decades. CNN reported it would be the Army’s first imposition of the death penalty on a service member in 65 years.
