President Donald Trump said on December 4 that he will not livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009. The announcement reverses an earlier Pentagon plan to broadcast the execution publicly.
Last week, the Pentagon said it would livestream the execution. If carried out, it would have been the first publicly broadcast execution in the United States since 1936. Previous U.S. administrations have criticized foreign governments for holding similar public executions.
In a social media post, Trump called Hasan "a very evil and wicked person." He also accused former President Barack Obama's administration of an "intelligence failure" ahead of the attack that killed 13 people.
"Nevertheless, I thought that livestreaming the execution for all to see might be a strong deterrent, so that the world can witness how America deals with terrorists and scum like Hasan. However, many good and decent people do not want to see him die on a livestream or by any other visual means," Trump wrote.
"He will die on schedule by firing squad, but the event will not be televised," Trump declared, adding that immediate family members of the victims would be allowed to witness the execution.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the execution would take place "publicly."
"Because people need to understand that actions like that have severe consequences," Hegseth said in an interview with right-wing media figure Jack Posobiec.
He added that the execution would take place at 1 p.m. Central Time on December 3 (19:00 GMT), the same time of day as the 2009 shooting.
The announcement drew condemnation from several lawmakers, including members of Trump's own Republican Party.
Some experts argued that livestreaming an execution could violate U.S. laws barring the transmission of obscene, offensive or violent content. Some contended there is no way to guarantee that minors cannot access the livestream.
Critics also questioned Hegseth's claim that a public execution would serve as a deterrent, arguing instead that it risks glorifying the attacker and inspiring copycats.
