Trump calls off plan to livestream Fort Hood shooter's execution, says people "would rather not watch him die"
Washington — President Trump said Thursday that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be streamed, a decision that comes after his administration faced significant backlash over the Pentagon's initial plan to allow the American people to watch Hasan's death by firing squad.
"I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed."
The president said the immediate families of the victims can view the execution in person if they choose to.
"They deserve to witness JUSTICE!" he said.
Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring more than 30 at Fort Hood in 2009, is set to be executed by firing squad at 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Texas Army installation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this month.
The plan to allow the public to watch Hasan's execution was revealed by Hegseth last week in an interview with far-right political activist Jack Posobiec.
"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 said.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said Hegseth and Mr. Trump spoke about the decision to cancel the planned livestream before the president announced it on social media.
"The Secretary supports the President's decision, and they are completely aligned," Parnell said in a statement.
But the plan sparked broad outcry from Republicans and Democrats, who warned that livestreaming Hasan's death diminished the United States and could fuel radicalization.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News national correspondent and chief Washington analyst Robert Costa that "the concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists." Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that he would not watch the execution.
CBS News reported Tuesday that Trump administration officials were leaning against streaming the death by firing squad.
If the Trump administration had followed through with its plan, it would have placed the United States in a small group of nations carrying out public executions. Afghanistan and Iran are the only two nations that conducted known public executions last year, according to Amnesty International.
It appears the last public execution in the U.S. took place in 1936. An estimated 20,000 people gathered to watch the hanging of Rainey Bethea, a Black man who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70-year-old White woman, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The last military execution took place in 1961, when U.S. Army Private John Bennett was hanged. Hasan's death by firing squad would be the military's first using that method since 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
