Hegseth: ‘Live broadcast of the execution of the terrorist Hasan’. Vance: ‘I won’t be watching it’
Controversy at the Pentagon over the live stream of the killing of the detainee. The major, radicalised by Islamic extremism, killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood. The dissent of the Vice-President JD Vance: if it is broadcast, I don’t think I’ll watch it
The firing squad will be in person, with the execution streamed live. This was decided by the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth – a decision that appears unprecedented in the modern era and has sparked a storm of accusations in Washington that the US is resorting to torture and methods typical of terrorist groups or countries blacklisted by the international community.
In front of a firing squad – likely comprising between three and seven volunteers – and under the watchful eye of the world, the execution of former Major Nidal Malik Hasan is due to take place on 3 December. Hasan, who had been radicalised by Islamic extremism, carried out a massacre of his fellow soldiers (13 dead and 32 wounded) in 2009. The execution, to be broadcast live at 1.00 pm local time, will take place at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, the scene of the massacre.
The shocking decision took even the administration’s top brass by surprise and divided them. Vice-President JD Vance has distanced himself from the decision: ‘I don’t know if it will actually happen, but if it’s streamed, I won’t be watching,’ he said. President Donald Trump, whilst having so far endorsed Hegseth’s recommendations, has remained silent on the livestreaming plans during his daily events.
This story highlights just how extraordinary they would be, even in a country that retains the death penalty, such as the United States. The execution is the first ordered by the Pentagon since 1961, when a court-martial sentenced a soldier stationed in Austria to be hanged for the rape and attempted murder of an eleven-year-old girl. And the use of a firing squad is the first since 1945, when the army executed a Second World War deserter in France. Hegseth wants to turn it into something more: the first public execution on record in the Pentagon’s annals. Even to find a similar event carried out by civil authorities, one has to go back to 1936 and 1937, in Kentucky (20,000 spectators) and Missouri (500 onlookers). The live stream, if it goes ahead, now promises a far wider audience for an administration keen on media impact, however controversial it may be.
“We will ensure that people are able to watch,” Hegseth told the conservative TV channel Real America’s Voice. He cited a desire to send a message: “Everyone must understand that there are serious consequences for this sort of thing.” Hegseth, known for purging dissident generals, promoting the ‘warrior ethos’ and defending troops responsible for war crimes, has always championed what he describes as the ‘honest mindset’ of the past, when public executions were commonplace.
