Trump scraps plan to livestream firing squad execution
The firing squad execution of a convicted military base shooter will not be livestreamed, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday, canceling a contentious plan by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The post Trump…
Nidal Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist, was convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others, one of the deadliest attacks on a US military installation. He has remained on military death row for over a decade as his case moved through lengthy appeals, a common feature of the US military justice system where executions are rare and often delayed for years.
The plan to livestream his execution by firing squad, reportedly pushed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, broke with longstanding US practice of keeping executions out of public broadcast and drew criticism from victims' families, legal experts and rights advocates over its ethics and precedent. Trump's reversal comes as Hegseth faces separate scrutiny over his handling of the Iran conflict fallout, adding political weight to the decision ahead of the US midterm elections. Coverage across outlets agrees on the cancellation and the backlash that preceded it, though details on a revised execution date or format have not been reported.