A proposal to livestream the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, has sparked widespread criticism from military officials, survivors, religious leaders, and lawmakers. The execution remains scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, but President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that it would not be broadcast.
Hasan was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in the attack at the Texas military base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had initially supported streaming the execution, arguing that the public needed to understand the seriousness of such crimes. However, his plan was met with sharp opposition from multiple quarters, and ultimately overruled by the president.
Retired Gen. Sean B. MacFarland, who commanded Fort Hood from 2014 to 2017 and approved Hasan’s death sentence following his courts-martial conviction, said while Hasan deserved capital punishment, broadcasting the execution would be ill-advised. MacFarland warned livestreaming could encourage future attacks and turn Fort Hood into a target for retaliation. He emphasized a key distinction: Hasan was a member of the U.S. military who betrayed his oath and was being tried under military justice, unlike an enemy combatant covered under the Geneva Conventions.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, led by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, also publicly opposed the livestream. Broglio reiterated the Catholic Church’s stance against capital punishment and described the proposed broadcast as an affront to Hasan’s human dignity. He expressed concerns about the effect on children who might witness the execution and called for Catholic personnel to be excused from involvement in the process.
Survivor Sgt. Alonzo M. Lunsford Jr., who was shot multiple times by Hasan during the attack, affirmed that Hasan should be held accountable with the death penalty but opposed televising it. He said the execution should not be turned into a public spectacle or treated as entertainment, emphasizing that American values reject public executions.
In addition, dozens of retired military officers, including admirals and generals, issued an open letter condemning the plan to livestream Hasan’s execution. They criticized it as degrading to human dignity and warned it would tarnish the honor of the U.S. armed forces and nation.
The decision to cancel the broadcast was welcomed by several members of Congress. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a West Point graduate, called the president’s reversal “the correct conclusion” but criticized the initial proposal as emblematic of “impulsive and dysfunctional civilian leadership.” Some Republicans, including Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, also denounced the proposed livestream, describing it as “beyond disgusting” and likening it to actions by some of America’s most brutal adversaries.
Under Army regulations, no one under the age of 18 may witness a military execution, a policy at odds with Hegseth’s original plan to make the event public. The execution by firing squad remains set to proceed at Fort Hood as scheduled.