President Donald Trump said Oct. 10 that he would decide whether the military execution of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed. The final call on broadcasting a state killing rests with the president. A firing squad is scheduled to execute Hasan on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, where he carried out the mass shooting.
Who Controls the Broadcast
“By showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did, so I'll make a decision ultimately,” Trump said outside the White House. He added: “I know what the military would like to do, but we'll make a decision.” In this arrangement, the public waits as the president weighs whether an execution should also become a broadcast. Trump described the choice as two thoughts: “Show it and don't show it.”
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced Oct. 8 that he would make a livestream of Hasan's execution public. Trump's statement two days later left that plan unsettled: Hegseth had announced it, but Trump said the ultimate decision was his. Democrats and Republicans condemned the announcement, calling it the behavior of dictators and terrorist organizations.
Hasan was convicted in 2009 of killing 13 people and injuring more than 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas. Trump said Oct. 10 that Hasan “was a vicious killer, killed 13 people in cold blood, wounded over 20, some of those people will never have their lives back in a true sense.” The article reports the conviction and victims’ injuries, but includes no statements from survivors or relatives.
The State’s Theater of Deterrence
Trump offered a possible reason to show the execution: “By showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did.” He also said Hasan “was vicious, he was violent,” framing the question as a choice between showing the execution and not showing it. The proposed livestream is being discussed as more than a question of public access: it could serve as a warning to others, while the president decides whether the military killing goes on camera.
The day before, Trump said Hasan “deserves it,” though the article says it wasn't clear whether he meant the execution itself or a livestream. Vice President JD Vance said Oct. 9 that he wouldn't watch if the execution were livestreamed and that he didn't “know that that's actually going to happen.” Vance is a Catholic. On Oct. 10, Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the death penalty following the controversial announcement.
Who Gets to Say No
Asked by CNBC whether he would allow the livestream to be broadcast, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said he would “defer to” Hegseth. Carr said: “My understanding is it's not on broadcast TV, so I don't think there's a role for the FCC there one way or the other.” Carr declined to claim a role, pointing back to the military leadership, while Trump said the final decision belonged to him.
The article reports no election or legislative solution, grassroots organizing, or mutual-aid response to the announcement. It describes a decision concentrated among senior government officials, alongside public criticism from Democrats and Republicans and Pope Leo XIV’s opposition to the death penalty. The execution remains scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, and Trump retains the decision on whether the state will livestream it.