Slotkin Opposes Livestream of Hasan Execution at Fort Hood

Plans to broadcast the execution of former US Army Maj. Nidal Hasan online have sparked bipartisan criticism, with Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin warning that a public display of his death could serve as extremist propaganda. The Pentagon plans to execute Hasan by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 3, although questions remain about the broadcast's legality and implementation.

According to reports from WOOD-TV and BBC News, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has supported livestreaming the execution as a deterrent against future attacks. Hasan was convicted for killing 13 unarmed soldiers and injuring 32 others during a shooting at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009.

Slotkin criticized the proposed broadcast in a post on X, distinguishing the punishment for Hasan's crimes from the decision to show his death to a potentially large online audience.

"Nidal Hasan’s crimes at Fort Hood were horrific. His actions destroyed families and he deserves no sympathy. But Pete Hegseth’s decision to livestream his execution is not about Mr.

Hasan — it’s all about all of us," Slotkin said in the post. "This has never happened before in America, and for good reason — it’s the kind of thing we got used to seeing from the Taliban or ISIS, not the U.S. military."

Slotkin argued that footage of the execution could be repurposed by hostile groups for recruitment. She also warned that broadcasting Hasan's death could elevate his public profile rather than honor the victims of the 2009 attack.

"Just as terrorist groups used on-camera executions as propaganda for their cause, this video will be used in recruitment videos by America’s enemies for decades to come," Slotkin said in her post on X.

She also raised concerns about the impact on the families of those killed and injured in the shooting, arguing that a public broadcast could turn Hasan into a symbolic figure for extremists.

"An on-camera death will make him (Hasan) a martyr and cause célèbre enshrined in history. This is likely the very last thing I imagine the families of the slain would want," Slotkin said in the Friday post.

Slotkin called for the broadcast to be stopped, urging military and political leaders to reconsider the decision.

"Someone with more sense than Pete Hegseth, who has lost all bearings of what it means to lead, should step in and stop the public airing of this event," she said.

President Donald Trump expressed support for Hasan's execution by firing squad during a political event in Texas on Wednesday, saying Hasan deserved the punishment. On Friday, Trump said he approved of the livestream plan, although a final determination still needed to be made, according to BBC News. He did not answer when asked whether he would personally watch the broadcast.

Vice President JD Vance took a different position on watching the event, telling reporters Friday, "I’m not going to be watching it."

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted during his 2013 court-martial that he fatally shot 13 soldiers at a crowded medical building on the base. He said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from the US military. Hasan was wounded during the attack and now uses a wheelchair.

John Galligan, a civilian lawyer advising Hasan, told BBC News that he first learned of the execution date through a social media post by the Pentagon's chief spokesman. Galligan criticized the way the event was being presented.

"Carnival" and "the closest thing to a lynch mob mentality that we used to see in the olden days" were Galligan's descriptions of the planned event, according to BBC News.

Alonzo Lunsford, a former Army sergeant who was shot seven times during the Fort Hood attack, said he opposed unrestricted public access but supported allowing victims and their families to view the execution.

"As far as the families of the fallen and the families of the survivors, and the survivors themselves, yes, I think we should be able to look at it uncensored," Lunsford told BBC News.

The proposed livestream has also raised questions about military regulations and international law. Under US Army Regulation 190-55, which governs military executions, only designated categories of people, including journalists and relatives, may attend, and those under 18 are excluded. It remains unclear how the Pentagon would reconcile those restrictions with an online broadcast accessible to a potentially global audience.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric warned on Friday that livestreaming an execution would raise serious human rights concerns.

"Constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" is how the UN described the potential violation of international law, according to BBC News. Dujarric also called the possibility of a government executing someone publicly or before live cameras abhorrent.

Major online platforms also maintain restrictions on graphic violence and depictions of death. Meta prohibits livestreams of capital punishment, while YouTube bans violent or graphic material intended to shock or disgust viewers, subject to possible public-interest exceptions. TikTok also restricts extremely graphic content, including footage of a person's death, although its policy recently added a possible exception for material considered in the public interest.

BBC News reported that Amnesty International documented more than 2,700 executions across 17 countries in 2025, with only two countries known to have conducted public executions that year: Iran, with 11, and Afghanistan, with six.

Hegseth said the military had not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. WOOD-TV reported that the most recent military execution occurred on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged.