The upcoming execution of Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, will be a public event, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. A Department of Defense official later confirmed that the execution will be livestreamed. Hasan is scheduled to be executed by a military firing squad at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 3, at Fort Hood in Texas, marking the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years.
Speaking in an interview with Real America's Voice, Hegseth defended the choice of method and the decision to broadcast the event. He characterized the 2009 shooting as a radical Islamist attack carried out by someone in uniform within the military ranks. Hegseth explained that Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers, adding that making the execution public and viewable ensures people understand there are serious consequences for such actions. When asked if Hasan had submitted a final request or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth dismissed the inquiry, saying he did not care and that they would see him on December 3.
The execution comes after Donald Trump approved the death sentence this week, acting on a recommendation from Hegseth. Hasan, who has been held at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, exhausted his legal appeals last year, clearing the path for the execution order.
The shooting occurred on November 5, 2009, when Hasan opened fire at a medical processing center at the Texas base, killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others. A military jury sentenced him to death in 2013. During his court-martial, Hasan claimed he carried out the attack to prevent American soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims, ahead of his own scheduled deployment. Investigators later revealed that Hasan had exchanged 18 emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric who was later killed in a U.S. drone strike. A review of the pre-attack intelligence led by former FBI Director William Webster concluded that the bureau should have conducted a more thorough investigation into that correspondence.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, there was no record of then-President Barack Obama publicly labeling the shooting a radical Islamist attack. Speaking at a memorial service days after the massacre, Obama instead described the victims as Americans who were unable to escape the horror of war. He referred to the shooting as a tragedy and promised that the perpetrator would face justice.
The use of a military firing squad represents a rare move in modern American history, with the last recorded U.S. military execution by firing squad occurring in November 1945. However, the Trump administration has actively sought to revive the practice during his second term to speed up capital punishment cases. Currently, five U.S. states—Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah—allow executions by firing squad. Globally, Amnesty International’s latest annual review shows that countries such as Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen continue to use firing squads for executions.
