Fort Hood shooter's execution by firing squad to be livestreamed, Pentagon says
The public will be able to watch the execution of a former US Army major by firing squad, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said. An official from the Defense Department told the BBC the execution of Nidal Hasan, who fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, would be livestreamed.
The Pentagon had announced earlier this week that it would execute Hasan in the first military execution in more than 60 years. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth said on Thursday. "Because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Hegseth, in an interview with conservative TV outlet Real America's Voice, stated, "Hasan is gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be."
The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment on President Donald Trump's support for a livestreamed public execution.
Scheduled for 3 December at Fort Hood in Texas, the execution will be the first military execution by firing squad since the end of World War Two. The defence secretary had recommended the method, and President Trump approved it, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted in court that he was the gunman and apologised for "any mistakes." He had claimed during his 2013 court-martial that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The 2009 attack, which left 13 dead and 30 wounded, was the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base.