The Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, is drawing criticism from several prominent Black public figures.
The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon confirmed Thursday (October 8) that Hasan’s execution by firing squad will be livestreamed on December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas. It will also be the first military execution in more than 65 years.
Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after being convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in the 2009 shooting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the plan during an interview with Real America’s Voice.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public,” Hegseth said according to the AP. “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
The Washington Post reported that the planned broadcast would mark the first time the U.S. military livestreamed an execution. Hegseth doubled down on his decision in a response to CBS News’ coverage of the planned livestream, affirming the report in a post on X.
“Correct,” he wrote.
Journalist Jemele Hill questioned the decision in a post on X, writing, “What’s the point of this?”
“This is horrifying and barbaric,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) wrote on X. “We should not be executing ANYONE in America. Not by firing squad. And certainly not publicly. We need to abolish the federal death penalty and impeach this incompetent, insecure, and violent Defense Secretary.”
Vanity Fair contributing editor Franklin Leonard suggested Hegseth’s remarks reflected nostalgia for a particular period in American history.
Democratic Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta also criticized the administration, contrasting Americans’ concerns about the cost of living with what he described as the priorities of Trump and Republicans.
By Maya Boddie
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