US Military Plans to Livestream Firing Squad Execution of Fort Hood Shooter on December 3

Pentagon Announces Livestreamed Firing Squad Execution

The US military will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people, scheduled for December 3 at the Texas base. [1] A Pentagon official told Reuters that the execution will be livestreamed, with details to follow. [1] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed plans to livestream the execution in an X post. [1] The execution is set for the same day of the week and approximate time as the 2009 attack. [1] The execution will take place at Fort Hood in Texas on December 3. [2] A Pentagon official stated on condition of anonymity that the execution by firing squad will be livestreamed. [4]

Details of the 2009 Fort Hood Shooting

Nidal Hasan, now 56 and paralyzed, was sentenced to death in 2013 after a military jury convicted him of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. [1] The shooting occurred in a medical facility at Fort Hood weeks before his scheduled deployment to Afghanistan. [1] Hasan shot dead 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. [4] The shooting on November 5, 2009, took place in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines. [2] Hasan admitted in court that he was the gunman in the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base. [2] At court Hasan apologized for any mistakes. [2] He said during his court martial in 2013 that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. [2] He was left partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair from being shot by police during his arrest. [1]

Legal and Military Approval Process

President Donald Trump approved the firing squad execution on Hegseth's recommendation. [1] A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in August 2013 after finding him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. [1] Under US military law, a US president must approve an execution by firing squad. [2] The Pentagon announced earlier this week that it would execute Hasan in the first military execution in more than 60 years. [2] Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Monday that the defense secretary had made the recommendation and Trump approved it. [2] The appellate process for Hasan is not over, and he is likely to seek review of his conviction and sentence in federal court, which would likely stay the execution. [2] A military execution requires approval from the US president, according to military law, and also requires appellate review where a higher court inspects the decision. [2]

Hegseth's Statements and Rationale

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth championed the firing squad method and confirmed the livestream, stating it will be public so people understand there are serious consequences. [1] Hegseth told the Human Events Daily program that deciding to execute Hasan by firing squad at Fort Hood on a Thursday at 1 p.m. was a no-brainer. [1] Hegseth said in an interview that Hasan is gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. [2] Hegseth said the execution will be carried out in public. [4] Asked if Hasan had made any final requests, Hegseth said he did not care and that they would see him on December 3. [1] Hegseth said they will make sure that people are able to watch it and that it is public because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things. [2]

Expert Reactions and Historical Context

Legal experts describe the livestream as unprecedented in the modern era, on uncertain legal terrain, and potentially subject to court challenges by Hasan that could delay it for years. [1] No other country is known to livestream legal executions. [1] Eugene Fidell, a lawyer and military law expert who lectures at Yale Law School, said it would be extremely strange to livestream the event and that as far as he knew it would be unprecedented to livestream or televise an execution. [1] Jonathan Lurie, an author and historian of military justice, said there are no compelling reasons to make the execution public. [1] John Mills, a lawyer who works with inmates sentenced to death, said the decision to livestream it is unprecedented in the modern era and on uncertain legal terrain. [2] Eugene R Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, told the BBC it was a really unfortunate decision. [2] The last military execution in the country took place in 1961, when a US Army private was hanged. [2] The last military execution by firing squad took place in January 1945, when a young US Army deserter, Eddie Slovik, was shot during the final months of World War Two. [2] The last legally sanctioned public execution in the United States was conducted in 1936. [1]

Broader Death Penalty Developments

The decision comes amid renewed US debate over the death penalty after a botched lethal injection attempt in Tennessee last week on Christa Pike. [1] Plans by the state of Tennessee to execute a woman for the first time in more than 200 years went awry last week when prison personnel botched attempts to administer a lethal injection, leaving the death-row inmate, Christa Pike, alive but hospitalized. [1] Death by firing squad is one of several forms of capital punishment the Trump administration recently added to permissible forms of execution for the gravest of federal crimes, along with electrocution and gas asphyxiation. [1] While there were more than 2,700 executions across 17 countries last year, only two countries carried them out publicly, with eleven public executions known in Iran in 2025 and another six in Afghanistan, according to Amnesty International. [2] The countries with the highest number of executions last year were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the US, in that order, according to Amnesty International data. [2]

What to watch next: The appellate process for Hasan continues and he is likely to seek review in federal court, which would likely stay the execution for years according to legal experts.