President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the Department of Defense will not broadcast the upcoming capital punishment of Nidal Malik Hasan, ending days of intense political debates regarding public viewings of military executions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously proposed streaming the proceeding, which triggered swift objections from lawmakers across both political parties.
Addressing the decision in a statement published to Truth Social, Trump indicated that while he personally saw potential strategic value in a public broadcast, he ultimately deferred to widespread public sentiment, writing: “Nidal Malik Hasan, a former U.S. Army Major turned traitor, is a very bad and evil man, who killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, who died, along with her unborn son, and injured, very seriously, 32 more innocent people. Barack Hussein Obama’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted electronic communications between Hasan and the radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki. When reviewed by his FBI terrorism task force, investigators concluded that Hasan’s emails were not a threat. This assessment of the Obama Administration’s actions was later considered to be a key intelligence failure. With all of that being said, 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. He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed. That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!”
The reversal follows widespread criticism from lawmakers, high-ranking government figures, and public polling. Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned the necessity of the broadcast and confirmed “I’m not going to be watching it,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned that circulating recorded footage could serve as “a recruiting tool for future terrorists.” Additionally, Republican Representative Austin Scott stated that “I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do,” reinforcing the bipartisan pushback.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, opened fire at a Fort Hood processing center in Texas in November 2009, killing 13 people and leaving 32 others wounded. Paralyzed after being shot during his arrest, he was convicted by a military court in 2013 and sentenced to death. His pending punishment marks the military’s first execution by firing squad since 1945 and the armed forces’ first execution of any kind since 1961.
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