US President Donald Trump and his advisers are reconsidering plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, after the president reportedly expressed reservations upon learning that Hasan is paralysed from the waist down, according to sources familiar with the discussions. CNN reported that Trump was initially…...
US President Donald Trump and his advisers are reconsidering plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, after the president reportedly expressed reservations upon learning that Hasan is paralysed from the waist down, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
CNN reported that Trump was initially unaware of Hasan’s condition and did not know that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced plans to allow the public to watch the execution. However, multiple officials told the news organisation that Trump supported the decision to execute Hasan by firing squad.
The president reportedly consulted several advisers and allies about how to proceed, even after Hegseth confirmed the Pentagon’s plans in a post on X on Thursday.
During those discussions, Trump learnt that Hasan was shot in the back by law enforcement officers during the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and now uses a wheelchair. The information reportedly made the prospect of publicly broadcasting the execution less appealing to the president.
One source familiar with the discussions told CNN that Trump’s understanding of the power of imagery could influence his decision to abandon the livestream plan.
A Trump adviser also said the president had considered concerns that a public execution by firing squad could provide propaganda for foreign adversaries and terrorist groups seeking to portray Hasan as a martyr.
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The White House on Tuesday referred CNN to Trump’s comments on Saturday, when he acknowledged that he was weighing two options before making a final decision.
“He was vicious. He was violent,” Trump told reporters about Hasan over the weekend. “There are two thoughts: Don’t show it and show it. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So, I’ll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”
The Pentagon is also reviewing the livestream arrangements, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
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The source said that even if the execution is broadcast, the transmission would likely be cut before shots are fired, partly because of concerns that the moment could be exploited for propaganda by terrorist groups.
Hegseth’s office has yet to respond to further requests for comment on whether the plans have changed.
The proposal to livestream the execution has attracted bipartisan criticism, with personnel across the Pentagon and the Army reportedly caught off guard by the announcement, CNN previously reported.
Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not involved in the decision but indicated that he understood the reasoning behind it.
“I understand the decision,” he said, adding that some people “want to set an example” by livestreaming the execution.
Hegseth had initially recommended that Hasan be executed by firing squad, a proposal Trump approved. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
The execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood. If carried out as planned, it would be the US Army’s first execution of a soldier since World War II and the first time in 65 years that the military has imposed the death penalty on an active-duty service member.
Hasan, a US-born citizen of Palestinian descent, said he targeted soldiers with whom he was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan. He also said he wanted to protect the Taliban and its leaders from the US military.