Some soldiers are already panicking about the possibility of being asked or even forced to participate in the firing squad execution of Nidal Mikal Hasan, according to a religious freedom organization that advises U.S. military members.
Hasan, who killed 13 people during a mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, in a spectacle that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this week would be livestreamed publicly by the Trump administration.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Hegseth told the conservative television network Real America’s Voice News on Thursday. “People need to understand there are serious consequences for these types of things.”
Just a day later, Michael L. Weinstein, the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told The Washington Sun that he had spoken to six soldiers who are already looking to file for preliminary religious exemptions that would prevent them from being selected for the firing squad. He said that he anticipates between 120 and 180 service members to file accommodation requests in the coming weeks.
Trending
The MRFF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the religious freedom of service members and advocates for them when military policies or practices may infringe on their beliefs.
The service members expressed concerns about being part of what Weinstein called a “grotesque public spectacle” and fear that participating in the execution would violate the biblical commandment against murder. Two of the six service members are Catholic and four are Protestant.
“They feel they’re being used and manipulated,” Weinstein said. “Like chess pieces on a board.”
“Four have had preliminary indication that they are potentially vulnerable to be qualified to be on the firing squad,” Weinstein added, though he did not elaborate on what that indication was.
An execution order signed Monday by Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle directed Hasan be put to death by firing squad on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. Central Time. The order, issued after President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s death sentence on Oct. 2, designated the commandant of the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth as the execution officer.
The order cites Army Regulation 190-55, which governs military executions but does not specify how soldiers will be selected for the firing squad, whether their participation will be voluntary or how their identities will be protected. It also makes no mention of livestreaming the execution.
Soldiers ordered to participate in the execution would have little legal recourse to refuse, according to Steven Lepper, a retired Air Force major general and former deputy judge advocate general of the Air Force.
Although military regulations recognize conscientious objectors who oppose war in all its forms, they do not provide a comparable exemption for service members who object to a particular assignment, he said.
“This is one of those situations … that could be classified as lawful but awful,” Lepper said. “If a soldier is ordered to participate in a firing squad, there being no specific legal prohibitions against it, it would probably be considered a lawful order and one which the soldier has a duty to follow.”
Cynthia Smith, an Army spokesperson, could not provide further details about the selection of soldiers, the logistics of the broadcast or whether any legal objections had been filed.
None of the soldiers who spoke with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation claimed they’d actively been tapped to serve on the execution team.
As a precaution, however, Weinstein advised each of the soldiers to file the exemption requests, which would need to be reviewed by a chaplain and approved by a commanding general.
If their requests are denied, he’s advised them to file formal complaints against their commanders. Weinstein emphasized that being ordered to serve as part of a firing squad is consistent with laws governing military executions, but the public nature of a livestreamed event changes the stakes for participants.
He said one soldier told him: “I do not want my children or my family watching me pull a trigger.”
Several soldiers argued the public nature of the killing would violate a basic tenet of Christianity that prohibits sinning in pride.
It’s unclear how many soldiers would be a part of the execution team. South Carolina, which legalized firing squad executions in 2021, has used a crew of three shooters, all with live rounds, to kill death row inmates.
The Pentagon has not released details of the logistics and did not respond to a detailed series of questions or a request for comment from The Sun.
While lawful, Lepper warned that livestreaming Hasan’s execution could inflame extremists and turn him into a martyr. Lepper noted that the United States has long condemned public executions in other countries, raising questions about the precedent the Pentagon would set.
“Why would anyone want to inflame the passions of an enemy that we’re currently fighting?” he asked. “Why would we want to inflame the passions of the Muslim world by making Hassan a martyr?”
Weinstein agreed, saying, “This is his dream.”
”This will be viewed as an execution of Islam,” he said. “How could he possibly be martyred any better?”
Moreover, Weinstein said troops have questioned whether Hegseth is using the execution as a political ploy ahead of the midterms.
Weinstein said hundreds of soldiers have reached out to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to share their concerns about the defense secretary’s acerbic leadership style and relentless focus on culture war issues.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have spoken out against Hegseth’s decision to livestream the execution — one of the rare issues where Republicans have spoken out against the Trump administration and publicly called for a reversal.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) excoriated the decision in an X post: “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”
While speaking to reporters on Friday, Vice President JD Vance said he didn’t expect the livestream to actually take place — adding that even if it does, he plans not to watch.
“I see these announcements. I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” Vance told reporters Friday. “If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it.”
Author
Contributor
