Charisma Madarang
Contact Charisma Madarang on X Contact Charisma Madarang by Email View all posts by Charisma Madarang October 8, 2026 Add us as a Google Preferred Source
Add us as a Google Preferred Source 
Defense Pete Hegseth speaks ahead of Donald Trump at Anduril Industries in Sparrows Point, Maryland, on Oct. 6, 2026. Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images The first military execution in more than six decades will be livestreamed, according to Pentagon officials.
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News that the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a 2009 shooting at the military base.
When asked about the decision process, Hegseth said, “No brainer. Execution by firing squad.” He added, “We’ll make sure that people are able to to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that this is a there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
Following the news, The Associated Press confirmed that the Pentagon said the firing squad execution of Hasan will be livestreamed.
Secretary Hegseth was asked about the execution of Nidal Hasan: "No-brainer—execution by firing squad… Of course we're doing it at Fort Hood. We're going to do it at 1 o'clock—which is when he did it. It's going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad." pic.twitter.com/QqjJrAZK41
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 8, 2026
President Donald Trump approved the execution by firing squad on Monday. The U.S. military has not carried out a death penalty execution since 1961 and the announcement has raised concerns among military law experts about whether the mandated process for setting an execution was followed.
Trump has made clear that he is a big proponent of the death penalty, and has long sought to expand its use. His first administration executed more people in its final six months (13) than the previous 10 presidential administration executed combined, and Rolling Stone reported in 2023 that Trump expressed a desire to bring back firing squads, hangings, and even execution by guillotine, should he retake office. Then, back in April, Trump‘s Justice Department announced that is was bringing back firing squads as a method to execute people sentenced to death.
