Pentagon announces public livestream for execution of Fort Hood mass shooter
Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution, scheduled for December 3.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the public will be able to watch the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan , a former Army officer convicted of the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas .
In an interview aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln with conservative media outlet Real America’s Voice, Hegseth said Hasan “going to get a firing squad of soldiers, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.”
“People need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth said, calling the execution method a “no-brainer.”
According to Hegseth , the execution will take place at 1 p.m. on December 3 at Fort Hood, on the same day of the week and at the same time of day as Hasan’s attack.
A Defense Department official said the execution will be livestreamed, although it remains unclear which platform will carry it.
An execution method not used in decades
The last military execution took place in 1961 , when Army Private John Bennett was hanged after being convicted of raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl in Austria .
The last firing squad execution carried out by the U.S. military was that of Private Eddie Slovik in 1945 , after a court-martial convicted him of desertion during World War II .
Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009 , killing 13 people and wounding 32 others while shouting “Allahu akbar,” which means “ God is great” in Arabic . He was convicted of premeditated murder in 2013 through the military justice system and sentenced to death. He is currently on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot during the attack. He later told a panel of military mental health professionals that he wished he had been killed because it would have made him a martyr for his cause. He also said that if he were executed, he would still be considered a martyr.
NBC News reported this week that the idea of using a firing squad began taking shape inside the Pentagon earlier this year, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning. Sean Parnell , the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, said on social media that President Donald Trump recently approved Hegseth’s recommendation to carry out the execution.
During the interview, Hegseth was asked whether he knew if Hasan had contacted Trump or made any final requests.
“Don’t care,” Hegseth said. “We’ll see him on Dec. 3rd.”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center , once a president approves a death sentence handed down by a military court, the service member can seek habeas corpus relief through the federal court system.
If that petition is denied, the service member would be escorted from death row to the execution chamber at the United States Disciplinary Barracks. Traditionally, the prisoner would be strapped to a gurney and executed by lethal injection. However, the Defense Department has said Hasan will be executed by firing squad.
Hasan has represented himself throughout the lengthy legal process, although two attorneys from the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service have assisted him as needed. It remains unclear whether he will appeal the method of execution.
