Trump Says Execution of Fort Hood Shooter by Firing Squad Will Not Be Livestreamed

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President Donald Trump said on Thursday the government would not live stream the execution of the U.S. Army Major convicted of killing 13 people at the Fort Hood military base, reversing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to broadcast the moment.

In a Truth Social post, Trump labeled Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan a “very bad and evil man” and claimed that the FBI under President Barack Obama failed to properly analyze intercepted communications between Hasan and Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a government airstrike in 2011.

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Still, “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.

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” he added. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said last week Hasan’s execution would be livestreamed, eliciting pushback from Democrats, Republicans and religious advocates about the idea. House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News he wouldn’t watch the execution, while networks and streaming services did not indicate whether they would air it at all. If it had been carried out, the scheduled Dec. 3 execution of Hasan would be the first in modern U.S. history to be broadcast.

Trump himself reportedly wavered on the idea. CNN reported the president was unaware Hegseth wol that Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down, making the image of