Trump cancels planned livestream of Nidal Hasan execution amid backlash

October 16, 2026

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has canceled the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.

The Christian Post reports Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, saying, “He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”

Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, murdered 13 people and injured 32 others at the Fort Hood Army base in Killeen, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009.

Trump’s announcement came after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told conservative political activist Jack Posobiec in an interview earlier this month that the public would be able to watch soldiers shoot Hasan in December, according to The Washington Post.

CBS News reported that a Pentagon official later confirmed that the execution would be livestreamed.

The planned public execution prompted intense debate among Christians about the morality and wisdom of the U.S. government livestreaming an execution.

According to the Christian Post, President Trump said broadcasting Hasan’s execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” but he acknowledged that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”

Trump 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!”

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