US government to livestream Fort Hood shooter's firing squad execution in insane first
The US government is set to livestream an execution for the first time after a Defense Department official confirmed that the event would be broadcast to the world.
The official shared details of the upcoming execution of Nidal Hasan with the BBC, who reported that this is believed to be the first public execution in the nation in nearly a century.
Hasan, who is a former United States Army major, opened fire on armed forces in the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, killing 13 people and injuring a further 30.
He was sentenced to death and incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas to await execution.
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On Monday (October 5), the US Department of Defense issued a statement which confirmed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had recommended that Hasan be executed by a US Army firing squad, which President Donald Trump has approved.
Who will livestream Hasan's execution?
This will mark the first public execution in the US in 90 years and the first one to be livestreamed online.
The execution is set to take place at Fort Hood on December 3, with Hegseth stating: “He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be. 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.”
It has not yet been confirmed where the execution will be streamed but it is believed that it will be widely available to the public on the day. Typical streaming platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and TikTok all prohibit graphic violence, with Twitch's official policy banning "use of weapons to physically… kill others'. YouTube's community guidelines prohibit all graphic violence and gore, and anything with 'the intent to shock or disgust viewers'. TikTok's guidelines are slightly more complicated. While the platform prohibits content depicting 'moments leading up to a serious accident or injury, even if the injury itself isn't shown', they also state exceptions can be made for viewers over 18 to view 'graphic footage of events that would otherwise violate our rules but are in the public interest to view, such as wars and major disasters'. Whether something like Hasan's case can be considered within the public interest is up for debate.
Not everyone agrees with the decision as, speaking to the BBC, lawyer John Mills shared that the decision to broadcast the event is ‘unprecedented’, adding: “Seeking to make it livestreamed, a firing squad execution, is little more than attention-seeking by the Trump administration and is unlikely to occur, much less deliver any semblance of justice.”
Hasan was initially scheduled to be executed by lethal injection, but Hegseth confirmed that he had changed his mind on the matter, adding that the method of firing squad was a ‘no brainer’ to him.
This comes just days after Christa Pike’s execution by lethal injection failed. The 50-year-old was set to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years until the lethal injections administered failed to kill her.
Pike has since been transferred to hospital where she is said to be awake and talking.