Trump cancels plans to livestream Nidal Hasan execution

The reversal marks a shift from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s earlier suggestion that the administration would allow the public to witness the event as a deterrent against terrorism. Trump acknowledged the potential symbolic value of such a broadcast but concluded that a private execution, witnessed only by victims' families, remains the better path. The decision follows pushback from lawmakers across the aisle, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who warned that the footage could inadvertently become propaganda for extremists.

Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at the Texas military base. His case remains historic, as the US military has not executed a prisoner since 1961. The use of a firing squad for a capital sentence is even rarer in modern American history, with the last such instance occurring in 1945 during the Second World War.