Trump Rules Out Livestream of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan’s Execution
US President Donald Trump has ruled out livestreaming the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, reversing a proposal outlined by Pete Hegseth while saying the death sentence would be carried out as scheduled.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Relatives of Hasan’s victims would be allowed to witness the execution in person on December 3, he added.
Hasan, a former Army major, was sentenced to death in 2013 after being convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009.
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TRUMP DROPS BROADCAST PROPOSAL
Trump said a public broadcast might have served as a deterrent, but acknowledged objections to showing the execution.
“Many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” he wrote.
The decision followed criticism from lawmakers across party lines after Hegseth said Hasan was “going to get a firing squad of soldiers, and we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it”.
Vice President JD Vance subsequently cast doubt on whether a broadcast would go ahead, saying: “I don’t know that’s going to happen.”
Trump had initially left the question open. Speaking to reporters at the White House over the weekend, he said he would make the final decision after considering arguments about whether showing the execution could deter others.
LAWMAKERS RAISED CONCERNS
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that footage of the execution could be used as propaganda by future extremists.
“We’ve got to think through the policy implications of all that,” he told CBS News earlier this week. “I wouldn’t be watching it if it was aired.”
Johnson also said he needed to convey concerns from fellow Republicans to the White House, noting: “Not everybody is in favour of the idea.”
The US military last carried out an execution in 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged following his conviction for raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl in Austria.
With inputs from ANI