Trump cancels plan to livestream execution following global condemnation

Donald Trump has shelved a widely condemned plan to livestream the execution of a disabled man by firing squad.

The US president confirmed the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would not be public.

His administration had faced sweeping criticism, and comparisons to dictatorships in Iran and Afghanistan, after Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, said last week it would “make sure” people were able to watch.

Broadcasting such an execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan”, Trump argued on Thursday in a post on his Truth Social Platform.

The president acknowledged, however, that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device”, adding: “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”