US military to livestream execution by firing squad

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at a military base in Texas, arguing that Americans should witness the consequences of such crimes.

Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army major sentenced to death for a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, is scheduled to face a military firing squad on December 3. The execution would be the first carried out by the US military in more than six decades and the first by an Army firing squad since World War II.

Speaking to conservative commentator Jack Posobiec on Thursday, Hegseth defended the decision to execute Hasan at the same installation where he carried out the massacre.

“He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth said.

The Department of War subsequently confirmed that the execution would be livestreamed for public viewing, with further details to follow, according to the Washington Post and AP.

Hasan, a US-born Muslim and former Army psychiatrist, opened fire at a military processing center at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. He reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar” – Arabic for “God is great” – during the attack.

The gunman had previously exchanged emails with radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was subsequently killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. During his court-martial, Hasan admitted responsibility for the massacre, claiming he had acted to protect fellow Muslims from American military operations in Afghanistan.

He was convicted of premeditated murder and attempted murder in 2013 and sentenced to death. The US Supreme Court declined to review his conviction in March 2025, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to approve the execution earlier this month following a recommendation from Hegseth.

The execution is scheduled for 1pm on December 3, at approximately the same time of day as the original attack. Hasan could still seek to delay his execution through a separate legal challenge in civilian federal court.

The last US military execution took place in 1961, when an Army private was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl.

Capital punishment by firing squad remains legal in five US states – Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah – although the method is rarely used.

Public executions are even more unusual in modern American history. The last widely recognized public execution in the US took place in Kentucky in 1936, when a convicted murderer was hanged before thousands of spectators.