Pentagon set to livestream execution by firing squad: 'WE'LL MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO WATCH IT'
· Toronto Sun
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The Pentagon has confirmed that it will livestream the military’s first firing squad execution in more than 60 years, and what is believed to be the first public execution in the United States in nearly a century.
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The public will be able to tune in and witness the execution of Nidal Hasan — the man who fatally shot 13 unarmed soldiers and injured 32 others at Fort Hood in Texas on Nov. 5, 2009 — from their devices, perhaps even from the (dis)comfort of their homes.
The decision to livestream came after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News earlier this week that Hasan is “gonna get a firing squad of soldiers — as it should be.”
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth told host Jack Posobiec on Wednesday while aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
“People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
Second World War vibes
Hasan, who was shot and partially paralyzed by a civilian police officer who responded to the attack, was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013.
His execution is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, marking the first military execution by firing squad since the end of the Second World War.
“I kind of like the mentality we had in World War II, which was win, which was understand when the enemy attacks you, you need to stand your ground,” Hegseth said.
When asked if Hasan had made any final requests, or reached out to President Donald Trump about a stay, Hegseth responded: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd.”
LIVE: @SecWar addresses the Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. https://t.co/fi8ElIKa8H
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) October 7, 2026
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell had said on Monday that the defence secretary had made the recommendation and Trump approved it.
“It will be livestreamed. Details will follow,” a Pentagon official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The backlash was swift
On Friday, the UN condemned the livestreamed execution, saying it would amount to torture.
“The livestreaming of an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture,” the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement to AFP.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy was stunned, calling public executions “medieval.”
“I mean, that’s disgusting, what is he mimicking ISIS executions?” Murphy said on CNN . “That’s what America has become? That’s pretty extraordinary.”
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called it “beyond disgusting,” noting on X, “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”
Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting. Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America. https://t.co/qpl6KQj4Wb
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) October 9, 2026
The last U.S. military execution was carried out in 1961, when John Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder.
There have been at least 17 public executions that are known to have been carried out in 2025 — six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran, according to Amnesty International .
Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist from Virginia, chose to defend himself during the trial but called no witnesses, gave no testimony, and made no attempt to deny the charges.
He said during his court-martial in 2013 that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and apologized for “any mistakes.”