Hegseth says firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be ‘public’

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas will be publicly available to watch.

In an interview with the media outlet Real America’s Voice on Thursday, Hegseth was asked about President Donald Trump’s recent order to use a firing squad to execute Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of the 2009 shooting.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 items

list 1 of 3Fort Hood shooting trial begins

list 2 of 3Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan

list 3 of 3Fort Hood shooter to be executed by firing squad: All to know

end of list

The secretary said he approved of the decision, calling it a “no-brainer”.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth told interviewer Jack Posobiec. “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Hegseth added that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on December 3 at 1pm US Central Time (19:00 GMT), the same time that the 2009 shooting took place.

Hasan was sentenced to death in August 2013 after a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder for the shooting.

The former Army major walked into an army processing centre on the Texas base, shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) and opened fire on fellow military members waiting to get medical attention.

Hasan’s execution required approval from Hegseth and Trump, who authorised the use of the firing squad on Monday.

An official with the Defense Department told Al Jazeera that Hasan’s execution would be “livestreamed”, adding that more details would come soon.

It is not clear from Hegseth’s remarks whether troops, spectators or US military officials would be present in person for the execution. US Army regulation states that at least two media outlets should be selected as witnesses.

No state or federal execution has ever been televised in the US. The last public execution in the country took place more than 90 years ago in Owensboro, Kentucky, on August 14, 1936.

The last time a US military execution was conducted by firing squad was in 1945, for desertion during World War II.

When asked to comment on Hegseth’s remarks – and whether Trump would view the execution – the White House referred Al Jazeera to the Pentagon.