‘Barbaric’: US lawmakers condemn plan to livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution

What the report says

US lawmakers from both parties have criticized a Pentagon plan to livestream the execution of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, the man convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas that killed 13 people. Al Jazeera reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the firing-squad execution would be made public, prompting immediate backlash in Congress and beyond.

Several Republicans and Democrats said the idea was inappropriate even if they supported Hasan’s death sentence. Among those objecting were Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican Rep. Austin Scott and Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who argued that the victims and their families should be the focus rather than turning the event into a spectacle. Democratic Sen. Jack Reed called the proposal “barbaric” and urged the Trump administration to reconsider, while Sen. Chris Murphy also denounced the idea as “disgusting.” One Republican, Rep. Andy Ogles, backed the plan.

According to Al Jazeera, President Donald Trump authorized the use of a firing squad, and Hegseth said the execution was set for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. local time at Fort Hood, matching the time of the original attack. US Army rules generally limit who may witness military executions, and Reed said a public broadcast would require a presidential waiver.

The report also noted concern from the United Nations, whose human rights office said livestreaming the execution would amount to a public execution and could violate international law.