In this photo released by the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is charged with murder in the Fort Hood shootings, is seen in a booking photo after being moved to the Bell County Jail on April 9, 2010, in Belton, Texas. (Bell County Sheriff’s Office / Getty Images)
By V. Saxena October 15, 2026 at 8:28am
President Donald Trump has canceled the livestream execution of the Fort Hood Islamic terrorist mass shooter, former U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan.
Hasan is scheduled to be publicly executed by firing squad at Ford Hood on Dec. 3. Earlier this month, War Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the execution would be public.
But in a Truth Social post published late Thursday morning, the president wrote that the execution will “not be streamed” going forward.
The president attributed this change to criticism from “good and well meaning people.”
BREAKING: Trump rules out livestream for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution https://t.co/ZTlHU2qgLf
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 15, 2026
“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” he added. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose.”
According to the Associated Press, this change in plans comes after the original livestreaming plan sparked bipartisan backlash.
Some of the backlash came from House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, a Washington state Democrat who released a statement through the committee calling the livestream proposal “disturbing.”
Smith further argued that the livestream “makes a mockery of our legal system” and would turn the rule of law into a spectacle.
“Calling for a livestream of the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is disturbing and makes a mockery of our legal system. There is a reason why we treat the meting out of justice with the seriousness it demands. We are a democratic country and should take the rule of law seriously, not turn it in to a spectacle.”
– @HASCDemocrats Ranking Member @RepAdamSmith
— House Armed Services Democrats (@HASCDemocrats) October 9, 2026
Several Republican lawmakers also spoke out against the plan.
“Seneca warned that Rome’s bloody spectacles corrupted the people who watched them,” Utah Sen. John Curtis wrote on the social media platform X. “A civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment.”
“Secretary Hegseth’s plan to livestream the Fort Hood execution risks feeding that appetite,” he added. “The victims deserve justice administered with solemnity. Broadcasting a death diminishes us and is not an effective deterrent. I urge him to reconsider.”
Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Bresnahan echoed this sentiment in a post of his own:
An execution shouldn’t be a live-streamed spectacle. The focus should be on justice for the victims and their families, not turning an execution into entertainment. Their pain deserves respect, not a public show.
— Congressman Rob Bresnahan Jr. (@RepBresnahan) October 9, 2026
Georgia Rep. Austin Scott and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis followed suit.
“I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do,” Scott wrote on X. “America is better than that.”
Do you agree with Trump’s decision to cancel the livestream of Nidal Hasan’s execution?
“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” Tillis added. “It should not be happening in America.”
The final straw appeared to come from Vice President J.D. Vance, who told reporters on Friday that he didn’t intend to watch the livestream:
.@VP JD Vance on livestreamed execution: “If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it.” https://t.co/DKQ7X2MiWw
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 9, 2026
“If it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not gonna be watching it,” he said.
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V. Saxena is a seasoned conservative news writer and commentator with a decade of experience in the industry. When not at work, he can be found working out or tending to his popular bird feeder.
