Public Execution of Nidal Hasan Scheduled
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Hasan, the convicted Fort Hood mass shooter, will be made public, marking the first public execution in the U.S. in nearly 90 years.
Later that same day, the Pentagon confirmed that the execution would be live-streamed, as reported by AP.
Hasan is slated to face a military firing squad on December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, at 1 p.m. Central Time.
During an interview aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Hegseth stated that the execution would indeed be public. He emphasized, “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.”
In September 2025, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported that the Pentagon was preparing to get President Donald Trump’s final approval for Hasan’s execution. A Department of War official indicated that the execution paperwork was already advancing through military channels for presidential review.
“Inmate Hasan’s packet is now in the staffing process for presidential action,” the official shared at that time.
Hegseth had previously expressed his commitment to overseeing Hasan’s execution, making known his certainty about justice for the victims and survivors of the mass shooting.
“I am 100 percent committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan,” Hegseth mentioned in a statement. He added that Hasan “deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays.”
The execution recommendation must go through Army leadership and the Army secretary before reaching the president, according to earlier reports.
On Monday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced that Trump had approved Hegseth’s recommendation, stating that “judgment day for Hasan has finally come.”
Hasan was found guilty of killing 13 individuals and attempting to kill 32 others in the mass shooting at Fort Hood in November 2009. He had admitted during his trial in 2013 that his target was soldiers preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.
The execution, which was officially scheduled by acting Army Secretary Adam Telle following Trump’s approval, will be the first executed by the U.S. military since 1961 and the Army’s first by firing squad since World War II.
The last public execution in the United States was in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged in Kentucky.
