Pentagon Says Hasan Execution Will Be Livestreamed

The Pentagon says the planned firing squad execution of former US Army major Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed publicly, although legal challenges could delay or prevent the execution scheduled for December 3.

Pentagon Announces Public Livestream

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the public will be able to watch the planned execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. A US Defence Department official confirmed to the BBC that the execution would be livestreamed.

The decision has been described as unprecedented in the modern United States. John Mills, a lawyer who works with death row inmates, said the proposal raised significant legal questions and placed the government on uncertain legal ground.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth said, adding that people needed to understand the consequences of such crimes.

Trump Approves Execution Recommendation

The Pentagon announced earlier this week that Hasan would face military execution, marking the first such execution in more than 60 years. Hegseth told conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice that Hasan would face a firing squad made up of soldiers.

Asked whether Hasan had made final requests or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth replied that he did not care and said the execution was scheduled for December 3.

A Pentagon spokesperson said Trump had approved Hegseth’s recommendation. However, the White House has been asked to clarify whether the president also supports broadcasting the execution live.

Legal Challenges Could Delay Execution

The execution is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood in Texas on December 3, according to the US Army secretary. However, legal experts have questioned whether it can proceed while Hasan’s appeals remain unresolved.

Military law requires presidential approval, appellate review and a final determination that the execution can legally move forward. Mills said Hasan’s appellate process was not complete and that he was likely to challenge his conviction and sentence in federal court.

Such proceedings could result in a stay of execution and potentially continue for years. Mills said he would be surprised if the execution took place as scheduled.

He also criticised the administration’s decision to livestream the event, arguing that the proposal appeared designed to attract attention and was unlikely to deliver justice.

Experts Question Public Broadcasting

Eugene R Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, described the decision as deeply unfortunate. He said broadcasting an execution live was an outdated approach that raised concerns about how society treats capital punishment.

Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor who has studied execution methods in the United States, said a livestream would create an unprecedented level of transparency around the process.

She noted that supporters of the death penalty could argue that the public should see how executions are conducted. However, she also highlighted questions over age restrictions and whether online platforms would permit the broadcast.

Social Media Platforms Face Restrictions

It remains unclear where the proposed livestream would be available. Major platforms have rules restricting or prohibiting the broadcasting of executions.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, bans livestreams of capital punishment. TikTok also prohibits such broadcasts. X has different rules on content depicting death, including provisions allowing removal following a request from a victim’s family or an authorised representative.

Truth Social, the platform owned by Trump, does not offer a live video-streaming feature for users, potentially limiting its suitability for hosting the event.

Hasan Convicted Over 2009 Fort Hood Attack

Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted fatally shooting 13 unarmed soldiers inside a crowded medical building at Fort Hood in 2009. During his 2013 court-martial, he apologised for what he described as mistakes and said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The planned execution would be the first military execution in the United States in more than six decades. The last military execution took place in 1961, when an Army private was hanged after being convicted of raping an 11-year-old Austrian girl.

The last US military execution by firing squad occurred in January 1945, when Army deserter Eddie Slovik was shot during the Second World War.

Global Executions Remain a Human Rights Concern

According to Amnesty International, more than 2,700 executions were recorded across 17 countries in 2025, although only two countries were known to have carried out public executions. Iran recorded 11 public executions, while Afghanistan recorded six.

The United States had gone 17 years without a federal execution until the final year of Trump’s first presidency, when 13 executions were carried out. After returning to office, Trump overturned former President Joe Biden’s moratorium on federal executions.

The proposed livestream has renewed debate over capital punishment, legal safeguards and the public visibility of state executions, with uncertainty remaining over whether Hasan’s execution will proceed on the scheduled date.