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Trump said that a decision on the proposed livestream had yet to be made, while making clear that he supported carrying out Hasan’s death sentence by firing squad.
US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. (AFP file photo)
US President Donald Trump on Friday cast doubt on plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the US Army psychiatrist sentenced to death for killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, contradicting Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had earlier confirmed that the execution would be broadcast publicly.
Trump said that a decision on the proposed livestream had yet to be made, while making clear that he supported carrying out Hasan’s death sentence by firing squad.
“They are making a determination about that, but he will be killed,” Trump said of the execution, scheduled for December 3. “I really don’t care how he goes, as long as he goes.”
Vance Questions Livestream Plan
US Vice President JD Vance also expressed uncertainty over whether the execution would be broadcast, saying he did not know if the proposal would go ahead. He added that he would not watch if it were livestreamed.
“I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” Vance told reporters while campaigning in Ohio. “If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it.”
On Thursday, Hegseth had confirmed that the military would ensure the public could watch the execution.
Hasan’s execution would be the first by firing squad in the US military since 1945, according to Hegseth.
Backlash Over Public Execution
The proposal has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. Republican Representative Austin Scott backed Hasan’s execution but said livestreaming it was associated with jihadist groups and that the US should hold itself to a different standard.
While, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly said Hasan should face justice but questioned whether the US wanted to be associated with practices used by Iran and the Taliban.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that livestreaming an execution would amount to a “public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture”.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, also called for the plan to be reconsidered.
Amnesty International’s Justin Mazzola said the death penalty violated human rights and warned that broadcasting Hasan’s execution would “only compound the cruelty”.
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas.
(With inputs from agencies)
Quick Answers
Ask News18President Donald Trump cast doubt on whether the execution of Nidal Hasan would actually be livestreamed, stating that a final determination had not yet been made. While supporting the death sentence by firing squad, Trump noted that he ultimately did not care how the execution was carried out as long as it happened.
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