The United States may soon broadcast a state killing to the world. That is the practical meaning of what the Pentagon confirmed on Thursday.
Officials said the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist behind the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, will be livestreamed. Details, they added, will follow. The announcement came a day after Hegseth told the outlet Real America's Voice News that Hasan will die at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, and that the public would be able to watch.
Hegseth gave the interview aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which was heading home to San Diego after a long deployment tied to the Iran war. Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests, he said he didn't care. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell had already said on Monday that Trump signed off on the execution.
The White House sent questions about the livestream straight to the Pentagon.
Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Texas base. He fired his lawyers, defended himself, and told jurors the evidence would show he was the shooter. He described himself as a soldier who had switched sides.
Soldiers testified that his fast reloading made it nearly impossible to stop him. Investigators recovered 146 shell casings inside the building, plus dozens more outside, where he fired at soldiers running toward a parking lot. Hasan has said he acted to stop troops from deploying to Afghanistan to kill fellow Muslims.
Hegseth says the military hasn't executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution of any kind was on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged.
Public executions are older still. Rep. Sarah Elfreth, a Maryland Democrat, noted that the country hasn't held one since 1936. She called Hegseth's plan abhorrent and urged Congress and the courts to step in.
Legal observers say Hasan himself could throw a wrench into the schedule. Military law experts told reporters he could resist and file a habeas petition in civilian court, which might delay things for a long time. Then again, given how he behaved at trial, he may not want a delay. Reporting also notes that he leaked material during the proceedings suggesting he could still be a martyr if executed.
That detail matters to critics. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said a livestream would hand a man who deserves no further notoriety the martyrdom he seeks. She asked the Pentagon to reverse course.
Trump has backed the execution itself, calling the death penalty a very worthy way to deal with Hasan, according to Indian news agency ANI. On the cameras, though, reports from The Times of India and NDTV say he has cast doubt and that no final decision has been made.
Vance has gone further. Axios reports he won't watch, and The Hindu says he expressed doubts about the Pentagon plan.
The FCC's chairman, Brendan Carr, added a wrinkle. He said he would leave it to Hegseth to decide whether TV networks can air the execution, per The Verge. CNN reported that the Army itself was caught off guard by the order.
There's an irony here that critics keep pointing out. Trump has publicly condemned public executions in Iran. In January he welcomed word that killings there were stopping.
Criticism has crossed party lines. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called the plan barbaric and gratuitous. Politico described a bipartisan backlash.
The pushback goes well beyond Capitol Hill. Amnesty International says a livestreamed firing squad would add to the cruelty of the death penalty. A US Catholic archbishop, Coakley, warned of a culture of death, and Pope Leo declared the death penalty inadmissible. The Dutch prime minister called the US decision absurd, and UK minister Bridget Phillipson called the plan disturbing.
Not everyone opposes the broadcast on principle. A Fox News interview featured a veteran shot seven times in the 2009 attack who issued a warning to Americans thinking of tuning in.
Can anyone actually stop it? The New York Times says the execution could face challenges in federal court. PBS, citing experts, reports the legal path to blocking the livestream itself looks narrow.
Several questions are open, and the clock is running. The Pentagon has promised more details. Hasan's legal team, or Hasan, could go to court. Trump could settle the livestream question with a single remark. Congress could try to attach conditions, although the odds of that are unclear.
The execution remains scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood.
