President Donald Trump announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed more than a dozen people during a 2009 mass shooting at Texas’ Fort Hood, will not be livestreamed after all.
The reversal follows intense backlash to the decision, which was first announced last week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” the president added.
Trending
Families of the victims would still be able to witness the execution in person, Trump said.
In speaking to conservative television network Real America’s Voice News about the execution last week, Hegseth said: “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.”
“People need to understand there are serious consequences for these types of things,” he added.
Hasan’s execution is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood. Hasan was serving as a U.S. Army major and Medical Corps psychiatrist when he carried out the deadly attack.
Though officials agreed Hasan should be punished, Hegseth’s remarks sparked intense backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as religious figures and retired military officers.
Even Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they wouldn’t be tuning in.
“I see these announcements. I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” Vance told reporters last week. “If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it.”
Johnson echoed his remarks.
“The concern would be that they would create a video [that would be] a recruiting tool for future terrorists,” said Johnson. “I wouldn’t be watching it if it was aired.”
The Washington Sun also reported that soldiers quickly began to request exemptions because they felt participating in a live, broadcasted execution would violate their religious beliefs.
Officials also raised concerns that footage of the execution could serve as propaganda for terrorist organizations.
In a statement, Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop for the U.S. Armed Forces, encouraged all Catholics to excuse themselves if they were selected for the firing squad.
“Do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?” Broglio wrote.
According to a poll released on Thursday by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, eight in 10 Americans opposed the decision to livestream the execution — though 53% supported executing Hasan by firing squad, with 43% opposed.
Author
