'Nidal Hasan's firing-squad execution to be livestreamed', says Pentagon; first US military execution since 1961

The execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed, a Pentagon official said on Thursday, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would take place in ‘public’. Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. His execution would mark the first carried out by the US military since 1961 and the first US military firing-squad execution since World War II. "It will be livestreamed. Details will follow," the Pentagon official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Thursday, Hegseth said in a video posted on X by official Pentagon accounts that Hasan is going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public. Speaking to right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, Hegseth said the public should understand that executions can carry serious consequences. "People need to understand that...there's serious consequence for these types of things," Hegseth said.

Hegseth pointed out that the planned execution would be the military's first firing-squad execution since World War II. He was referring to Eddie Slovik, a US soldier executed for desertion in 1945. "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. In another video clip, Posobiec asked Hegseth whether Hasan had been given the opportunity to make a final request. "Don't care. We'll see him on December 3," Hegseth said, referring to the scheduled execution date.

The last US military execution took place in 1961, when John Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.

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Afghanistan and Iran

The planned execution comes amid broader international debate over capital punishment. Amnesty International reported that at least 17 public executions were known to have taken place in 2025, including six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran. The Death Penalty Information Center says 135 soldiers have been executed by the US military since 1916. The Pentagon announced earlier this week that President Donald Trump had approved Hasan's execution for the 2009 attack, which was inspired by Al-Qaeda.

Hasan killed 12 soldiers and one civilian, while 30 others were wounded in the shooting. He was shot and partially paralyzed by a civilian police officer who arrived at the scene. A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in 2013. During his trial, Hasan represented himself. He called no witnesses, did not testify and did not attempt to dispute the charges. His court-appointed defense attorneys expressed concerns that he was deliberately seeking a death sentence.

The military court heard evidence that Hasan opposed the US military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. He had also communicated online with alleged Al-Qaeda figure and radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen who was later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

Other attacks at US military facilities

Mass shootings are common in the United States, but attacks of this nature are less frequent at military installations. In 2025, a soldier opened fire at a US military base in Georgia, injuring five fellow service members before he was tackled and arrested. In 2019, a US Navy sailor fatally shot two people and wounded another at a military base in Hawaii. That same year, a Saudi military student killed three people at a military facility in Florida. In 2015, a Kuwaiti-born US citizen attacked two military facilities in Tennessee, killing four Marines and a sailor. The FBI later concluded that the attack had been inspired by a 'foreign terrorist group'.