President Trump announced Thursday he is canceling plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.
The decision, posted on Truth Social, scraps a proposal by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to showcase the Dec. 3 firing squad death of Hasan, 44, who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others during a 2009 massacre at the Texas military base. Trump, 78, wrote that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”
“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 but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” he added.
The reversal follows bipartisan backlash that erupted after Hegseth initially revealed the livestream plans last week. The proposal would have marked the first public execution in the United States since the 1930s.
Trump’s announcement included a caveat for those directly affected by the violence. Immediate family members and victims of Hasan’s Nov. 5, 2009 rampage will still be permitted to watch him die if they choose, he said.
The 2009 attack at Fort Hood remains one of the deadliest mass shootings on an American military installation. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center where troops were preparing for deployment, methodically targeting uniformed personnel while shouting religious phrases. He was shot by civilian police officers during the assault, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. A military jury convicted him on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in 2013, and he was sentenced to death.
Hasan has been held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, while his case moved through lengthy appeals. The Dec. 3 date would make him the first person executed by the U.S. Military since 1961.
Hegseth’s initial announcement of the livestream plan had drawn condemnation from lawmakers across the political spectrum, with critics raising concerns about spectacle, due process, and the potential for the footage to be used for propaganda purposes. The Pentagon had not publicly confirmed technical arrangements for such a broadcast before Trump’s reversal.
The president’s Truth Social post framed the decision as a concession to public sensibilities rather than a response to political pressure. He maintained that a televised execution could have served as a warning to terrorists, even as he acknowledged the discomfort it would cause.
The scheduled Dec. 3 execution by firing squad will proceed without public broadcast.