By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-15 15:26:52 | Updated at 2026-10-16 08:30:52
17 hours ago
President Donald Trump reversed course Thursday, announcing that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, despite Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s pledge last week to make it public.
Trump’s announcement comes just a week after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed to make Nidal Hasan’s execution public, which would mark the first public execution in the U.S. in 90 years. (RELATED: Americans Will Be Able To Watch Fort Hood Killer Face Firing Squad, Hegseth Says)
Hegseth made the promise during an interview with conservative commentator Jack Posobiec aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
In a Thursday post on Truth Social, Trump said he reversed the decision to livestream the execution, describing Hasan as “a former U.S. Army Major turned traitor.” The president called Hasan “a very bad and evil man” who killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier and her unborn son, and seriously injured 32 others.
Trump also pointed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) handling of communications between Hasan and radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki under the Obama administration before Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood.
The FBI under the Obama administration intercepted electronic communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki, but investigators on the bureau’s terrorism task force concluded that Hasan’s emails did not pose a threat, Trump argued. He called the former administration’s assessment “a key intelligence failure.”
Trump said livestreaming the execution could have served as a deterrent by showing the world how the U.S. deals with terrorists, but acknowledged that many people would prefer not to watch Hasan die.
“With all of that being said, 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.”
🚨 WOW! SecWar Pete Hegseth just announced the firing squad execution of Fort Hood Islamist terrorist Nidal Hasan will be **PUBLIC** At the SAME time and place where Hasan carried out the attack. "We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public. Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things!" "He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be." @JackPosobiec: Did he make any final requests? HEGSETH: "Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd." 🥶 Hasan m*rdered 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009 while yelling "Allahu Akbar" and wounded more than 30 others He was sentenced to death in 2013 and then sat on death row for over a DECADE. The Acting Sec. of the Army made it official The victims’ families finally get JUSTICE 🙏🏻 Our SecWar is stone COLD when it comes to traitors like this who take American lives. @RealAmVoice
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 8, 2026Trump confirmed that Hasan “will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.” However, the president said the victims’ immediate family members may attend the execution in person “if they choose so,” adding that they “deserve to witness JUSTICE!” (RELATED: Evangelicals Join Catholics In Condemning Pentagon’s Plan To Livestream Fort Hood Killer’s Execution)
Hasan is scheduled to be executed by military firing squad Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. Central Time at Fort Hood, Texas.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported exclusively in September 2025 that the Pentagon was preparing to send Hasan’s execution case to Trump for final approval, citing a Department of War official who said the paperwork was advancing through the military review process.
