Hegseth says Hasan firing squad execution will be public

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on 8 October that Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad at Fort Hood will be public. Hasan fatally shot 13 people and wounded 30 at the Texas base in 2009 and was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013. The Pentagon said President Donald Trump approved the execution.abcnews.com+1

Hegseth's announcement matters because it would open a path the US military has not used in decades. Hasan's execution would be the first carried out by the US military since 1961, and Hegseth's promise of public access would make it visible in a way recent US executions have not been. The statement, made in an interview with Human Events, sets out how the Defence Department intends to treat the case.

What Hegseth said publicly

Hegseth said Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers and that the public would be able to watch. "He's going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public," Hegseth told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec in a clip posted on X by official Pentagon accounts, speaking aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

Hegseth gave a reason for the public execution in the same interview. "People need to understand that... there's serious consequence for these types of things," he said. The Pentagon announced earlier in the week that President Donald Trump had approved Hasan's execution for the 2009 attack, which the military court was told was Al-Qaeda-inspired.

What the 2009 attack killed

The court that convicted Hasan was told he opposed the US military's occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he had spoken online with alleged Al-Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and American citizen later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013, and Trump has now approved carrying out that sentence.

What remains unclear is what "public" means in practice. Asked to clarify Hegseth's words, a Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to the US Army, which said to contact the Pentagon. It is not clear whether Hegseth meant spectators would be present or whether the execution would be broadcast on social media or television.

What remains unclear

Public executions are rare worldwide. Amnesty International counted at least 17 public executions known to have been carried out in 2025, six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran. The United States has not conducted a public execution in 90 years, which would place Hasan's execution outside that recent pattern if it is opened to viewing.

The execution is scheduled for December at Fort Hood, according to Hegseth's account of the timing. The case has drawn attention alongside other US capital cases, including the botched execution of Christa Pike, who was reported unconscious and on a ventilator after the procedure, with her lawyer saying she asked "Where am I?" after waking.ansa.it

Hegseth made the remarks in an interview with Human Events, and a video was shared on 8 October by the Pentagon. The clip was posted on X by official Pentagon accounts, and Hegseth spoke aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. The Pentagon had announced Trump's approval earlier in the week.

The execution would be the first carried out by the US military since 1961, a gap of more than six decades. Hasan's case has moved from the 2013 military jury sentence to presidential approval, and the remaining question is how the Defence Department will implement the public access Hegseth promised. The next step is the December execution itself, which Hegseth said would be public. Whether spectators attend or the proceeding is broadcast remains unspecified, and the Pentagon and Army have not answered what "public" means. The date set for the firing squad at Fort Hood is in December.