The scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, has triggered a political and international outcry after defense officials announced the event will be broadcast live via streaming.
Hasan, now 56 years old, is scheduled to die on December 3, 2026, at the Texas military base where he opened fire on November 5, 2009. The attack left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded as soldiers gathered for medical clearances prior to deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Following a military trial in August 2013 where he chose to represent himself, Hasan was convicted of 45 counts, including premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder, and sentenced to death.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the plans for a public execution during an interview with Real America’s Voice aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Hegseth stated that the military would carry out the sentence via a firing squad at 1:00 p.m., mirroring the hour the shooting commenced nearly two decades ago. “We’ll make sure Americans can watch it. Because people need to understand that actions of this type carry very serious consequences,” Hegseth said, adding that the Pentagon intends to stream the event directly from Fort Hood.
The decision to conduct a public military execution—and broadcast it digitally—breaks with nearly a century of American precedent. The last public execution in the United States occurred more than 90 years ago, in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged before a crowd in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The announcement drew swift condemnation from international human rights monitors and religious organizations. The United Nations Human Rights Office denounced the streaming plan, declaring that it violates the absolute ban on torture. Meanwhile, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the move through Archbishop Paul Stagg Coakley, labeling the decision a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, echoed those concerns, stating that the spectacle of public execution runs in total opposition to Church teachings.
Domestic political reactions split across bipartisan lines. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina posted on X that public executions are practices typical of oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan and “should not happen in America.” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy similarly characterized the plan as repulsive and reminiscent of methods used by extremist groups like ISIS. Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters in Ohio that while Hasan committed the worst terrorist attack on American soil since September 11, he personally would not watch the broadcast if it proceeds.
Legal hurdles remain before the execution can take place. While Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that President Donald Trump approved the execution order earlier in the week, military regulations and appellate processes could stall the timeline. BBC analysis notes that Hasan’s legal team can still petition federal courts for stays or injunctions, and military death sentences require exhaustive appellate reviews that have not yet reached a final conclusion.
Hasan currently remains confined on death row at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, awaiting the December date as legal challenges and international pressure mount around the Pentagon’s unprecedented directive.
