BREAKING: Trump reverses decision to livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution

US President Donald Trump has reversed plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas.

Trump announced the decision on Thursday, saying Hasan would still face execution by firing squad on 3 December, but the public would not be allowed to watch the process through a live broadcast.

The reversal follows mounting criticism of the Pentagon’s original plan, which Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week. The proposal would have allowed the public to watch the execution, an unprecedented move in the modern history of US military justice.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had initially believed the broadcast could serve as a deterrent by showing the consequences of attacks against the United States.

However, he acknowledged that many people would be uncomfortable watching an execution.

“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the world to witness how America deals with terrorists and scum like Hasan,” Trump wrote, adding that many well-meaning people would rather not watch him die.

“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” the president said.

The announcement came after the proposal attracted opposition from lawmakers across party lines, religious leaders and other critics who questioned the need to broadcast a state-sanctioned killing.

Vice-President JD Vance had also indicated that he would not watch the execution, adding to the public debate surrounding the Pentagon’s plan.

The original proposal was defended by Hegseth as a way of making the execution public. The decision to abandon the livestream represents a change in how the punishment will be presented, although the administration has maintained that the execution itself will proceed as scheduled.

Hasan was convicted by a military court in 2013 for the shooting at Fort Hood, now known as Fort Cavazos, on 5 November 2009. He opened fire at a medical facility on the base, killing 13 people and injuring 32 others.

The victims included military personnel who were undergoing medical checks before deployment. The attack shocked the US military and prompted investigations into security procedures and the handling of warning signs before the shooting.

Prosecutors said Hasan carried out the attack after becoming increasingly hostile towards the military. During his trial, he represented himself and was found guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

His death sentence made him one of the few US military prisoners awaiting execution. If carried out on 3 December, it would be the first execution by the US military since 1961 and the first by firing squad since the Second World War.

The case has renewed debate over capital punishment, the treatment of military prisoners and the extent to which executions should be exposed to public view.

Though Trump has now ruled out a livestream, the execution remains scheduled for December. Immediate family members of the victims are expected to have the option of witnessing it in person.