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Trump announced that Hasan’s execution would proceed as scheduled on December 3, but would not be broadcast live.
Combo pic: US President Donald Trump and Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. (AFP photo)
US President Donald Trump on Thursday scrapped a controversial plan to livestream the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, following widespread opposition.
Trump announced that Hasan’s execution would proceed as scheduled on December 3, but would not be broadcast live. The plan, proposed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, drew criticism from politicians across party lines, religious leaders, military veterans and international observers.
Trump Overrules Livestream Plan
Trump said he believed broadcasting the execution could deter future attacks but acknowledged concerns about showing a person being killed.
“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
However, he added that many people would prefer not to watch the execution. “Many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump said.
The president added that the victims’ immediate families could attend the execution in person “if they so choose”.
Widespread Backlash Over Broadcast
Hegseth had defended the livestream plan, saying the public needed to understand that serious crimes carried serious consequences.
However, the proposal triggered opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch the execution if it were broadcast, while House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that the spectacle could become a recruiting tool for terrorists.
The United Nations also criticised the plan, with concerns raised that broadcasting the execution would amount to torture. Catholic leaders condemned the proposal, while British and Australian leaders called it as “abhorrent”.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released on Thursday found that eight in 10 Americans opposed livestreaming the execution.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013.
He opened fire at a medical facility at Fort Hood in November 2009, killing 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, and wounding 32 others. Most of the victims were military personnel.
Hasan was shot by a civilian police officer who responded to the attack and has been paralysed from the waist down.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Ask News18President Donald Trump canceled the livestream plan following widespread bipartisan opposition from politicians, religious leaders, military veterans, and international observers who raised concerns that broadcasting the event would amount to torture, serve as a terrorist recruiting tool, or negatively impact children.
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