Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will receive the death he “deserves” during his public execution in December.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring more than 30 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. President Donald Trump approved his execution by firing squad for December 3. The Army scheduled the execution for 1 p.m. at Fort Hood.
The attack came at the height of the global “War on Terrorism” initiative and investigators concluded that Hasan was motivated by Islamic extremist beliefs. They cite his email exchanges before the attack with Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda-linked cleric who later praised the massacre, as well as Hasan’s own statements. During his court-martial, Hasan said he had acted in defense of the Taliban, describing himself as having “switched sides”.
Hegseth made the statement Tuesday during a trip to Ohio and Wisconsin as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour. These are the first public comments Hegseth has made since Trump rejected his plan to livestream Hasan’s public execution.
“I agree with the president, we talked about it at length, in a positive way,” Hegseth said Tuesday when asked by a reporter if he was disappointed the execution would not be broadcast live. “We both recognize, you know, that death by firing squad is what Nidal Hasan, a terrorist and a traitor, deserves. He will get it. The families will watch it. And the fact is that there is also a deterrent effect, which continues whether it’s broadcast live or not. So I fully support the president’s approach.”
Earlier this month, Trump approved Hasan’s execution by firing squad, a rare method that would make Hasan the first U.S. military prisoner executed since 1961 — and the first by firing squad since World War II. Trump’s approval moved the case to the next step in the military’s death penalty process, although further litigation in civilian federal court could further delay the proceedings.
Hegseth pushed for Hasan’s execution to be live-streamed, prompting a bipartisan backlash, and Trump rejected the plans after telling reporters that he had personally authorized the proposal to live-stream Hasan’s execution.
In an article published in Truth Social, Trump said that although Hasan was “a very evil, wicked man” who would still die by firing squad, his death would not be broadcast, even though the president felt it “could have been a powerful deterrent.”
Trump said: “There are a lot of very good, well-meaning people who would prefer not to see him die, whether on streaming or through any other visual device. He will die, as planned, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed. »
Immediate family members of the victims, however, can witness Hasan’s death if they wish, Trump added.
The change in plans came after intense backlash against the proposal, including concerns from the brother of a soldier killed in the Fort Hood shooting. He urged Trump to reconsider his decision about live-streaming Hasan’s execution. Democrats have expressed overwhelming opposition to the idea, and several Republicans have also broken with Trump over live streaming, including several senators and representatives. Vice President JD Vance also questioned whether the live broadcast would take place.
What is Hegseth’s Arsenal of Freedom Tour?
In January, Hegseth launched Arsenal of Freedom, a “multi-state tour to support the nation’s defense industrial base,” according to the Department of Defense.
On Tuesday, the tour took Hegseth to Dayton, Ohio, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he spoke with defense industry workers.
In Wisconsin, Hegseth visited Riverside Machine & Engineering, a company that manufactures components for the defense, medical and aerospace industries. In Ohio, he visited the Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Aviation Innovation and Technology Center.
Newsweek Reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors about this story: Samantha Beech And Edward T. Cummins
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