A day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the public could watch Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan die by firing squad, Vice President JD Vance cast doubt on whether it will happen. “I’ve seen these announcements. I don’t know that that’s going to happen,” Vance told reporters Friday, NBC News reported.
President Trump didn’t settle it either. Asked by ABC News whether the December 3 execution would be livestreamed, he said, “They’re making a determination about that.” The Pentagon had said Thursday it would stream it.
What did Vance and Trump say about the livestream?
Vance, traveling to a campaign event in Ohio, said he wouldn’t watch if it were streamed, but called Hasan’s attack “the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11.” Trump told ABC News Hasan “will be killed” by firing squad: “I really don’t care how he goes as long as he goes.” The White House and Pentagon didn’t explain why the vice president contradicted the defense secretary.
Which Republicans oppose livestreaming the execution?
More joined Sen. Thom Tillis on Friday. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said, “If it were me, I wouldn’t televise it,” because “it makes our society coarser.” Sen. John Curtis of Utah wrote that “a civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment” and urged Hegseth to reconsider.
What do Fort Hood survivors think?
Alonzo Lunsford, a retired Army sergeant whom Hasan shot seven times, told ABC News he supports the execution and the firing squad. “It’s how he shot us,” he said. He plans to attend because he wants to “lock eyes” with Hasan. But he doesn’t want it streamed to the world. “I don’t want this to be viewed upon as a spectacle, like a pay-per-view event,” he said, arguing it should be shown only to survivors and victims’ families.
Whether the military can even stream it is unclear. Army rules allow media witnesses, but no U.S. execution has ever been broadcast live, and Snopes found the legal questions haven’t been tested.
The BeezLoop Take
This is how the Hegseth Pentagon keeps operating: announce first, figure it out later, and leave the White House to clean up. Within 24 hours, a decision about killing a man on camera went from “no-brainer” to “they’re making a determination.”
Lunsford’s answer is the right one. The people Hasan shot and the families of the 13 he killed have earned the right to see justice done. The rest of us haven’t earned the right to watch it as content, and the government shouldn’t offer it.
The open question: will the Pentagon formally drop the livestream, or wait for the backlash to fade?
Earlier: Hegseth wants to livestream a firing squad execution, and even Republicans call it disgusting, and the Army will execute Nidal Hasan by firing squad.
Sources: NBC News · ABC News · CBS News · Snopes · CBS Evening News (video)
