In the long arc of American justice, the state has rarely invited the public to watch it take a life — yet the Pentagon has announced it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, scheduled for December 3 at the very base where the violence unfolded. The decision, championed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by President Trump, would make this the first publicly broadcast legally sanctioned execution in the United States since 1936, and the first military firing squad execution since 1945. It ar
US to livestream Fort Hood shooter's execution, first public US execution since 1936
Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured 32 others in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting; he is now scheduled for execution.
Don't care. We'll see him on December 3.
Mark
So the Pentagon is actually going to broadcast this execution live? That seems like something that would have been stopped by now.
Mimi
It's happening because the Trump administration expanded what's legally permissible for federal executions, and Pete Hegseth specifically championed making this one public. The military has the authority to do it.
Luke
But has anyone actually tested whether it's constitutional? The Supreme Court has never ruled on livestreaming an execution.
Mimi
Right—that's the gap. Hegseth says it's about showing consequences, but legal experts like Eugene Fidell say it's "extremely strange" and Hasan could potentially challenge it in federal court.
Mark
What would Hasan's argument even be? That his dignity is violated?
Mimi
That's part of it. Elisabeth Semel raised questions about the condemned prisoner's dignity and what the administration actually hopes to achieve. But there's also the question of whether the broadcast itself is legal.
Luke
Has any other country done this? Livestreamed an execution?
Mimi
No. Reuters reported that experts are unaware of any country currently doing it. Iran and Afghanistan have conducted public executions, but not livestreamed.
Mark
So this would be genuinely unprecedented in the modern world.
Luke
And it's happening partly because states are struggling to get lethal-injection drugs. The administration added firing squads and other methods as alternatives.
Mimi
Exactly. There was a botched lethal injection in Tennessee last week, so this is all happening under intense scrutiny of how executions are carried out.
Mark
When is it scheduled?
Mimi
December 3, at Fort Hood, at 1 p.m.—the same day and time as the original shooting in 2009.
Luke
That timing choice tells you something about what Hegseth thinks this is for.
O Pulso
- The Pentagon has confirmed a livestream of Hasan's December 3 firing squad execution — an act with no modern legal precedent in the United States.
- Defense Secretary Hegseth has been openly dismissive of any concern for the condemned, framing the public broadcast as a necessary demonstration of consequence.
- Legal experts warn the move occupies entirely uncharted constitutional territory, as the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether livestreaming an execution is lawful.
- Hasan, paralyzed and wheelchair-bound since his arrest, could seek a federal injunction to block the broadcast, though his intentions remain unknown.
- The decision lands amid a broader administration push to expand execution methods and a national debate reignited by a botched lethal injection in Tennessee.
- No other democratic nation is currently known to televise a legally sanctioned execution, placing the United States in rare and troubling company.
In the long arc of American justice, the state has rarely invited the public to watch it take a life — yet the Pentagon has announced it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, scheduled for December 3 at the very base where the violence unfolded. The decision, championed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by President Trump, would make this the first publicly broadcast legally sanctioned execution in the United States since 1936, and the first military firing squad execution since 1945. It arrives at a moment when the nation is already wrestling with the ethics and mechanics of capital punishment, and when the line between justice and spectacle has rarely felt more contested.
The Pentagon announced this week that it will publicly livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan — the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009. The execution is set for December 3 at the same military base where the shooting took place, a choice Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as deliberate. If carried out as planned, it will be the first US military firing squad execution since 1945 and the first publicly broadcast legally sanctioned execution in America since 1936.
Hegseth has been the primary architect of both the execution and the decision to make it a public event. He argued that citizens deserve to witness the consequences of such crimes, and when asked about any final requests from Hasan, he was blunt in his indifference. President Trump approved the execution as required under military law, though the White House has not formally endorsed the livestream itself.
Hasan was convicted in 2013 by a military jury on 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. He represented himself at trial, acknowledged being the shooter, and offered little defense — though the judge barred him from arguing that he acted to protect Muslims from US military deployment abroad. He has been paralyzed from the waist down since being shot during his arrest.
The announcement has unsettled legal scholars. Military law expert Eugene Fidell called the plan 'extremely, extremely strange,' noting the Supreme Court has never addressed whether livestreaming an execution is constitutional. Elisabeth Semel of UC Berkeley Law questioned both the dignity implications for the condemned and the administration's underlying motives, characterizing the decision as a performance of power rather than a function of justice. Hasan could theoretically seek a federal injunction to block the broadcast, though it is unclear whether he will.
The case unfolds against a backdrop of growing national tension over capital punishment. A botched lethal injection in Tennessee last week has renewed debate over execution methods, and the Trump administration has already expanded permitted federal methods to include firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation. Experts say no other country currently livestreams a legally sanctioned execution. With the date set and the broadcast confirmed, the coming weeks will test where American law draws the line between public accountability and spectacle.
The Pentagon announced this week that it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who opened fire at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. The execution is set for December 3 at the Texas military base where the shooting occurred—a timing and location that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as deliberate. Hasan will become the first person executed by a US military firing squad since 1945, and the broadcast will mark the first legally sanctioned public execution in the United States since 1936, when thousands gathered to watch the hanging of a Black man convicted of rape.
Hegseth has been the driving force behind both the execution and the decision to make it public. In a post on X, he confirmed the livestream plan, and in an interview with the conservative program Human Events Daily, he argued that the public needed to witness the consequences of such crimes. He noted that scheduling the execution for Thursday at 1 p.m.—mirroring the day and approximate time of the original shooting—was straightforward policy. When asked about any final requests from Hasan, Hegseth was dismissive: "Don't care. We'll see him on December 3." President Trump approved the execution on Hegseth's recommendation, as required under US military law, though the White House has not stated whether Trump supports the livestream itself.
Hasan was 39 years old when he carried out the shooting. He was shot by law enforcement during his arrest and has been confined to a wheelchair, partially paralyzed. In August 2013, a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him to death. At trial, Hasan represented himself after dismissing his lawyers. He acknowledged being the gunman and mounted little defense, though he stated he had acted to prevent soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims—an argument the military judge barred him from presenting.
The decision to livestream the execution has alarmed legal experts and raised questions about both its constitutionality and its purpose. Eugene Fidell, a military law expert and visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, told Reuters that livestreaming an execution would be "extremely, extremely strange" and noted that the US Supreme Court has never directly addressed whether such a broadcast is legal. Hasan could potentially file a habeas petition in civilian court to challenge the execution or seek an injunction in federal court to block the public broadcast, though it remains unclear whether he will do so. Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, raised concerns about the condemned prisoner's dignity and questioned what the administration hoped to achieve through the spectacle. She characterized the decision as reflective of an administration focused on public performance.
The case arrives amid renewed national scrutiny of capital punishment and practical obstacles to carrying out executions. A botched lethal injection in Tennessee last week has intensified debate over execution methods. Media organizations have sought to televise US executions in the past but have been blocked by courts. Reuters reported that experts are unaware of any other country currently televising or livestreaming a legally sanctioned execution, though Iran and Taliban-run Afghanistan have conducted public executions in recent years. The Trump administration has expanded the methods permitted for federal executions to include firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation, partly because of difficulties obtaining lethal-injection drugs. At least five states permit firing squads, and South Carolina carried out the first firing squad execution in the US in 15 years in 2025.
The legal pathway forward remains uncertain. Fidell told Reuters that Hasan would need to sue in federal court if he wanted to block the broadcast, but the Supreme Court's silence on the question of livestreamed executions leaves open how courts might rule. The execution is now scheduled, the livestream confirmed, and the stage set for an event that will test the boundaries of what American law permits in the name of public accountability and consequence.
Citações Notáveis
This is a president who's about spectacle and that's, I think, precisely the message that he intends to deliver.— Elisabeth Semel, co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley Law, on the livestream decision
Livestreaming an execution would be extremely, extremely strange, and Hasan could potentially challenge it in federal court.— Eugene Fidell, military law expert and visiting lecturer at Yale Law School
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