Pete Hegseth says the public can watch Fort Hood shooter's execution
Source: www.axios.com ·
Section: politics ·
Bias: Left
· Published: Thu, 08 Oct 2026 21:19:38 GMT
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the public will be able to watch the execution of the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad. Why it matters: The U.S. hasn't held a public execution in 90 years, and Hegseth's remarks raise questions about how the military would allow people to watch.Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas.What they're saying: Hegseth told Real America's Voice Thursday that Hasan is "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."The latest: The Pentagon says the execution will be livestreamed, AP reports, but did not name where specifically the stream will be hosted.The Pentagon currently posts speeches and videos on X and YouTube.State of play: The Department of Defense declined to comment on Hegseth's remarks, leaving questions about how the public could watch the execution.The Army has not shared how it intends to conduct the execution, AP reports.It's unclear if Hegseth's remarks mean the execution will be open to public spectators, broadcast on streaming or TV, or made available to select individuals.Zoom out: This would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.The last U.S. military execution by firing squad was in 1945, when Pvt. Eddie Slovik was shot for desertion in France, according to NPR.Firing-squad executions are rare in the U.S.Only Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah authorize the method, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.Last year, South Carolina carried out the state's first firing squad execution — the first in the U.S. in 15 years.The last public execution in the U.S. was in 1936, when Rainey Bethea, a Black man convicted of raping a white woman, was hanged in Kentucky.
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