Source: Reuters
US President Donald Trump scrapped plans to livestream the execution of the former Army major who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, overruling Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday after the proposal drew opposition from Republicans, religious leaders and the public.
The reversal ended a plan to broadcast Nidal Hasan’s December 3 firing-squad execution. It also marked a rare public disagreement between Trump and one of the president’s closest allies, although the Pentagon said the two were “completely aligned.”
Hegseth had announced plans to livestream the execution at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, the site of Hasan’s 2009 attack. No other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions.
Trump and his advisers had been unaware of the livestream plan, said a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity.
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“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 social media post. “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”
The families of Hasan’s victims will be able to view the execution in person if they so choose, as is standard at US executions.
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, as well as religious leaders had expressed everything from doubts to outright condemnation of the Pentagon’s livestream plan.
Opinion polls showed a majority of Americans opposed livestreaming it. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the spiritual care of Catholic members of the US armed forces, also raised objections, while Pope Leo condemned capital punishment in all its forms.
An attorney representing Hasan could not immediately be reached for comment, and it was unclear if the scheduled December 3 execution date would be delayed by legal challenges.