"Public Execution".. Pentagon Decides to Broadcast Nidal Hasan's Execution Live - Sarmad

The U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, announced on Thursday that the execution of Officer Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people in a shooting at Fort Hood military base in 2009, will be broadcast live. The execution by firing squad is scheduled to take place at the base on December 3, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In an interview with the conservative channel “Real America’s Voice” on Wednesday, Hegseth said, “We will make sure that people will be able to watch it, and that it will be public.”

When asked whether Hasan had submitted any last requests or contacted the administration of President Donald Trump, Hegseth replied, “I don’t care. We will see him on December 3.”

Hegseth stated that the U.S. Army has not executed any of its personnel by firing squad since World War II. According to the Associated Press, the last execution carried out by the U.S. Army took place on April 13, 1961, when Private John Bennett was hanged.

Hegseth conducted the interview aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, during a visit to its crew, which had participated in supporting the war against Iran, before the ship returns to its home port in San Diego after a long deployment.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Barnell had announced on the previous Monday that Trump had approved Hasan’s execution, and on Thursday, the White House referred questions regarding the live broadcast plans to the Department of Defense.

Hasan, a psychiatrist and U.S. Army officer, opened fire inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood in Texas in November 2009, while soldiers were preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. The attack resulted in the deaths of 13 people and injured 32 others.

Hasan represented himself during his 2013 trial, where a military jury convicted him and sentenced him to death. The verdict triggered an automatic appeal process that concluded with the Supreme Court rejecting his final petition in the spring of 2025.

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, had previously stated that Hasan could delay the execution if he filed a challenge in federal courts to reconsider the legality of his detention, noting that presidential approval of the sentence does not mean the execution is imminent.