Trump has dropped plans to livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution.
Trump says Nidal Hasan will still face a firing squad, but drops plans to broadcast his execution after widespread criticism.
US President Donald Trump has cancelled the execution livestream planned for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan following widespread criticism. However, he said the former US Army psychiatrist would still face execution by firing squad.
The Pentagon had announced plans to execute Hasan on 3 December 2026 and broadcast the event online. Hasan killed 13 unarmed US military personnel and injured 32 others at the Texas military base in 2009.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump acknowledged objections from people who opposed watching Hasan die. He had previously supported broadcasting the execution as a deterrent.
Execution livestream dropped, firing squad plan remains
Trump said the execution would proceed as scheduled, despite his decision to stop the broadcast. He also said victims’ families could attend in person if they wished.
The planned execution would be the first carried out by the US military in more than 60 years. However, military law requires both presidential approval and a review by a higher court before an execution can proceed.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had defended the online broadcast as a way to demonstrate the consequences of such attacks. After Trump reversed course, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth supported the decision.
Parnell also said Hegseth had spoken with Trump before the announcement and that the two remained aligned.
Criticism followed Pentagon announcement
Human rights groups and others criticised the livestream proposal after the Pentagon announced it the previous week. The United Nations also condemned the plan.
Vice-President JD Vance had questioned whether the broadcast would happen and said he would not watch it. Meanwhile, Trump had signalled some uncertainty even while expressing approval.
On Friday, the president said he supported the proposal but added that the Pentagon was still considering it. His latest announcement ended plans for a public broadcast without changing his support for Hasan’s death sentence.
John Galligan, a lawyer handling mainly civil matters for Hasan, said the reversal did not surprise him. He argued that the livestream proposal breached the Army’s own regulations and had already damaged the military justice system.
Galligan also said Hasan was paralysed from the chest down. He added that he did not know whether Hasan had learned of Trump’s decision.
The 2009 Fort Hood attack
Hasan opened fire on 5 November 2009 inside a crowded medical building at Fort Hood. Soldiers preparing for deployment were waiting there for medical checks and vaccinations.
The killings marked the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. During his 2013 court martial, Hasan admitted that he had carried out the shooting.
He told the court he believed his actions protected Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from the US military. The planned firing-squad execution now remains on the Pentagon’s announced schedule, but without the proposed online audience.
