Trump: Pentagon must cancel plans to livestream Fort Hood execution

Updated Oct. 15, 2026, 1:16 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said the U.S. military will not livestream the execution of a former Army officer convicted of the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, reversing the Pentagon’s plan to turn it into a televised event.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth previously committed to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and injured 32 others in what was the largest mass murder at a U.S. military installation.

“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 in a post on social media on Oct. 15.

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump added.

The decision to force Hegseth to abandon his plans to broadcast the execution adds to an embarrassing week for the Pentagon chief. A day earlier, Hegseth was called a “war criminal” by protesters at a major Army conference who repeatedly disrupted his panel about the U.S. military’s efforts to improve its autonomous warfare capabilities.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that Hegseth spoke with Trump before the president announced his decision to cancel the planned livestream.

“The Secretary supports the President’s decision, and they are completely aligned,” Parnell added.

Several Republicans voiced opposition to the plan to livestream the shooting in the days after it was announced by Hegseth.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wouldn’t watch the execution and noted that some of his colleagues “have concerns.” Vice President JD Vance also said that he would not be watching and expressed doubt that the Pentagon would ultimately go through with its plans to livestream the execution.

Hegseth said on Oct. 8 that the Pentagon intended to livestream Hasan’s execution, which is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. – the exact same day of the week, location and time of Hasan’s 2009 attack.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Hegseth said at the time. “People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Trump approved the decision to execute Hasan by firing squad, saying “he deserves it.” But the U.S. president remained on the fence about livestreaming the event for the world to watch.

Some military experts and political leaders expressed concern that a broadcast of the execution would turn Hasan into a martyr and be used by terrorist organizations for recruitment purposes.

“The concern would be that you would create a video that would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists,” Johnson said.

More than 70 retired U.S. military leaders, including dozens of generals and admirals, condemned the proposed livestream in an open letter on Oct. 14, calling the plan a “barbaric abuse of authority.”

“It turns what should be the solemn and grave punishment of a member of our society for committing the most serious crimes into a carnival for the enjoyment of voyeurs and spectators,” they added. “This type of exploitative broadcasting – that debases human dignity – will taint the honor of the military that employs it, and a nation that allows it.”

While Hasan’s execution will not be broadcast, Trump said that family members of victims of the 2009 shooting will be allowed to watch the execution in person if they choose to do so.