Execution of a terrorist in the USA. Trump suddenly changed his mind
The US president announced that despite plans to use a firing squad, the terrorist's death will not be broadcast online.
Quick Look
- Donald Trump announced that the execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of the Fort Hood attack, will not be broadcast online.
- Despite the cancellation of the broadcast, the death sentence by shooting will be carried out on December 3 at the Fort Hood base in the presence of the victims' families.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Nidal Hasan carried out an attack on the Fort Hood base in 2009, killing 13 people. In 2013, he was sentenced to death.
Donald Trump announced his decision in a post on the Truth Social platform. He noted that although he believed that the broadcast of the execution could be a "strong deterrent" showing how "America deals with terrorists and scum", "many very good and well-meaning people would prefer not to watch his death, either through broadcast or any other visual means."
He will die, as planned, by firing squad, but this event will not be broadcast. Nevertheless, the execution can be viewed in person by the victims' closest relatives if they so wish, the president said.
“They deserve to be witnesses of JUSTICE!” - he added.
Trump thus changed the initial plans to execute Hasan. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced on October 9 that Hasan would be shot publicly.
His ministry later confirmed that this meant online transmission. Hegseth also decided on the execution method, which was supported by Donald Trump. It will be the first use of a firing squad since 1961.
Hasan is scheduled to be shot on December 3 at Fort Hood. The last public execution in the U.S. occurred in 1936, when Rainey Bethea, a black man convicted of raping a white woman, was hanged in Kentucky.
The plan to broadcast the killing of Hasan aroused strong opposition from many sides, including the Catholic Church and various religious groups, and a significant part of ruling party politicians. Even Vice President J.D. Vance declared that if the plans came true, he would not watch the video of the execution.
In addition to moral arguments, critics pointed out that the public execution of Hasan, who uses a wheelchair, would serve as attractive propaganda material for jihadists and turn the terrorist into a martyr.
On November 5, 2009, Nidal Hasan - then a military psychiatrist with the rank of major - opened fire in the training center for soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. 12 soldiers and one civilian were killed, including a pregnant soldier, and 32 people were injured.
Hasan was found guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, for which the court sentenced him to death in 2013.
Before the assassination, Hasan had been in correspondence with al-Qaeda, including the US-born then leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Anwar al-Awlaki.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The execution of Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Will the execution take place as planned on December 3?
