# US to livestream military firing squad execution

> The Pentagon will broadcast the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3, an unprecedented move for a US execution.
- Title: US to livestream military firing squad execution | Shortify
- Summary: The Pentagon will broadcast the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3, an unprecedented move for a US execution. The US…
- Keywords: nidal hasan, fort hood shooting, firing squad execution, livestream, pete hegseth, military justice, capital punishment, us military, news, politics, military, firing
- Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-09-us-to-livestream-army-firing-squad-execution-of-fort-hood-shooter-pentagon-says
- Author: Reuters
- Published: 2026-10-09T04:34:53+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: nidal hasan, fort hood shooting, firing squad execution, livestream, pete hegseth, military justice, capital punishment, us military, news, politics
## Pentagon to livestream execution
The US military will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, on December three at Fort Hood in Texas, the Pentagon confirmed.
## Hasan killed thirteen at Fort Hood
Hasan opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun in a medical facility at Fort Hood in two thousand nine, killing thirteen people. He was shot by police during arrest and left partially paralyzed.
## First military execution since nineteen forty-five
Hasan will become the first person executed by firing squad by the US military since nineteen forty-five.A military jury sentenced him to death in August two thousand thirteen after finding him guilty of forty-five counts.
## Trump approved the execution
Under US military law, a US president must approve an execution by firing squad. President Donald Trump approved it on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.
## Hegseth calls livestream a no-brainer
Hegseth said executing Hasan by firing squad at Fort Hood on a Thursday at one pm, matching the time and location of the two thousand nine shooting, was a no-brainer and should be public.

> 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.
## No country known to televise executions
Media have sought to televise US executions in the past but were blocked by courts. No other country is known to televise or livestream a legal execution, according to experts.
## Legal experts question the precedent
Eugene Fidell, a military law expert at Yale Law School, called livestreaming the execution extremely strange and said it would be unprecedented. The Supreme Court has never addressed whether such a broadcast is constitutional.

> It would be extremely, extremely strange to livestream the event.
## Execution timing mirrors the crime
Hegseth said the execution on December three at one pm on a Thursday at Fort Hood mirrors the approximate time, day and location of Hasan's two thousand nine shooting that killed thirteen people.
## Key takeaway

The US military will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist who killed thirteen people at Fort Hood in two thousand nine, marking the first televised US execution.