By: Gavin Thorne – SeaPRwire – The livestream is off. President Trump on October 15 canceled the online broadcast of the firing-squad execution of former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The decision reversed Defense Secretary Hegseth. Opposition from Republicans, religious leaders and the public had already stacked high. Hasan still faces the squad on December 3 at Fort Hood. He will be the first U.S. military prisoner executed by firing squad since 1945. No cameras will roll for the wider audience.
Hasan killed thirteen people at the Fort Hood base in 2009. He was a major and a psychiatric medical officer. The Pentagon announced on October 8 that it would stream the execution to the public online. No platform was named. Trump said on October 10 he had not yet decided. An anonymous White House official told Reuters that Trump and his advisers had not known about the livestream plan beforehand. Families of the victims may still watch in person if they choose. That option remains under current practice.
Trump posted the change on Truth Social. He wrote that broadcasting the execution might deter by showing the world how America treats terrorists and scum like Hasan. He added that many kind and well-intentioned people do not want to watch the death by livestream or any other visual means. Some Republicans, including Vice President Vance, voiced opposition. Religious leaders joined them. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees Catholic pastoral care for the U.S. armed forces, objected. Pope Leo XIV condemned every form of the death penalty. Polls showed most Americans against the broadcast.
The move marks a rare public split between Trump and Hegseth, a close ally. The Pentagon insisted their positions stayed completely consistent. A department statement said Trump spoke with Hegseth before the Truth Social post. The controversy lands while the death-penalty system faces fresh doubt. Last month Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike. Two lethal injections failed. She suffered severe injury and went to hospital. The Associated Press reported she left the hospital on October 10 and returned to prison. Pike was convicted of murder in the 1990s.
Internal voices and external pressure closed the camera option. The execution itself proceeds on schedule. The public will not watch it live.
Author bio: Gavin Thorne, political insider reporter based in Washington D.C., tracking executive decisions and military justice controversies for major outlets.