The Pentagon said Thursday that the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will be livestreamed and made available to the general public.
The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. local time at Fort Hood, Texas. It would be the first execution carried out by the US military since 1961 and the first by firing squad since World War II. Whether it takes place as scheduled remains uncertain, according to legal experts.
A Pentagon official told AFP: "It will be livestreamed. Details will follow."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier described the execution as public, telling the outlet Real America's Voice: "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." Asked whether Hasan had made any final request, Hegseth replied: "Don't care. We'll see him on December 3rd."
President Donald Trump approved the execution by firing squad on the recommendation of Hegseth, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
The case
Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist, was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 for the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood that killed 13 people and injured 32 others. The Supreme Court denied a petition to review his case in March 2025.
Hasan was shot by police during his arrest and left paralyzed from the waist down; he has used a wheelchair since.
Condemnation from the UN and both parties
The UN human rights office said livestreaming the execution would be "tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture," adding that it had made similar statements about public executions in Afghanistan and Iran.
The plan drew criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called it "disgusting" and "medieval," and asked whether the administration was "mimicking ISIS executions." Republican Senator Thom Tillis called it "beyond disgusting," saying: "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do."
Alonzo Lunsford, a survivor who was shot seven times in the attack, told the BBC he supported the firing squad as a method "befitting" the crime, but said the livestream should be limited to survivors and the families of those killed, rather than the general public.
Unanswered legal questions
Army Regulation 190-55, which governs military executions, bars minors from witnessing them. The BBC has asked the Pentagon and the US Army whether the restrictions will be waived and what safeguards will prevent young people from accessing the stream; no answer has been reported.
John Mills, a lawyer who works with inmates sentenced to death, called the livestream decision "unprecedented in the modern era" and "on uncertain legal terrain." He said Hasan's appellate process is not over and that a review in federal court would likely stay the execution, adding that he would be surprised if it proceeded as scheduled.
Eugene Fidell, a military justice lecturer at Yale Law School, similarly noted that Hasan could file a habeas corpus petition in civilian court, saying the case "frankly might outlast the current administration."
Why a firing squad
Death penalty experts interviewed by NPR and AP suggested the choice of method may be linked to the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee and the broader difficulty authorities face in obtaining drugs for lethal injections. Firing squads have been promoted by some experts as a quicker alternative, though critics note the method has also been plagued by problems.
What is confirmed and what is not
Confirmed: Trump approved the execution on Hegseth's recommendation; the Army set the date for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Fort Hood; the Pentagon says the execution will be livestreamed.
Unknown: How the livestream will be restricted, whether Army rules on witnesses will be waived, and whether pending federal review will delay the execution.
Awaited: The Pentagon has said further details on the broadcast will follow. The White House has not publicly stated its position on the livestream.