United States

US President Donald Trump has canceled plans to livestream the scheduled execution of former Army major Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas. Hasan is still due to be executed by firing squad on December 3, Trump said, but the event will not be publicly broadcast.

The decision reverses an announcement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month that Hasan would be executed at the Fort Hood base, where the attack occurred, and that the execution would be shown live. Trump said he had overruled his defense chief.

In a social media post, Trump said a broadcast could have served as a deterrent, but acknowledged objections to allowing the public to watch. “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 wrote. “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump and his advisers had not known about the livestream proposal before Hegseth raised it during a media interview.

Families of Hasan’s victims will still be able to attend the execution in person if they choose, as is standard at US executions. It was unclear whether legal challenges could postpone the December 3 date. An attorney representing Hasan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Objections to the broadcast plan

Hegseth had said a live broadcast was necessary to make clear that “there's serious consequences for these types of things.” The proposal drew criticism from some Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, as well as religious leaders and international observers. Recent polls also found that a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming the execution.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees spiritual care for Catholic members of the US armed forces, objected to the proposal. Pope Leo condemned capital punishment in all forms, according to the supplied account. No other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions.

Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, described Trump’s decision as “the right move” in a statement. Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the original proposal showed “a profound failure of moral judgment and basic human decency.”

“Such a horrific and vile spectacle should never have been considered in the first place,” Neal said.

Hasan’s conviction and execution questions

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted by a military court of premeditated murder for opening fire on unarmed soldiers at a medical facility on the vast Fort Hood base in 2009. Police shot him during the attack, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He now uses a wheelchair.

The planned execution has come amid renewed scrutiny of capital punishment following a botched execution attempt in Tennessee last month. Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder in the 1990s, survived two lethal injections and was left badly injured and hospitalized, according to the supplied report.

Trump’s reversal also comes less than three weeks before elections that will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress, with opinion polls showing growing voter disapproval of his policies. A Department of Defense spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.