Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the public execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army officer convicted of a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be livestreamed.
Speaking to the conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice, Hegseth said Hasan is “going to get a firing squad of soldiers, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.”
“People need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things,” said Hegseth, who said the method of execution is a “no-brainer.”
Hegseth said the execution would be carried out at 1 p.m. Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, which is the same day of the week and time of day as Hasan’s shooting rampage.
The execution will be livestreamed, according to a Defense Department official, though it’s not yet clear on which platform.
This will mark the first military execution since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged after he was convicted of raping and attempting to kill an 11-year-old girl in Austria. The last firing squad execution by the military was in 1945, after Pvt. Eddie Slovik was court-martialed for desertion during World War II.
Hasan, a former major and psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. In the ensuing chaos, 13 individuals lost their lives, while 32 others sustained injuries. During the incident, Hasan shouted “Allahu akbar,” which translates to “God is great” in Arabic.
President Donald Trump recently approved Hegseth’s recommendation of the public execution, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media.
Hegseth was asked if he knew whether Hasan had made any final requests.
“Don’t care,” Hegseth said. “We’ll see him on Dec. 3rd.”
According to Army regulations for executions, witnesses can include families of the victims and at least two media outlets from different organizations.
