Trump cancels live stream of Fort Hood shooter execution, firing squad still set
President Trump has blocked the live stream of Nidal Hasan's firing squad execution after backlash, saying the Fort Hood shooter will still die but the event will not be broadcast.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
President Donald Trump has cancelled plans to live stream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Hasan would still die as scheduled by firing squad but the event would not be streamed. He added that immediate family members of victims may attend in person if they choose, in line with most US executions.
The reversal follows days of backlash. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced that the execution would be public and available for viewing. He said it would take place at Fort Hood in Texas on a Thursday at 1pm, the same time and place as the 2009 attack, and that soldiers with rifles would carry out the firing squad. Hasan, a former army psychiatrist, killed 13 unarmed soldiers and wounded more than 30 others in the deadliest ever non-combat attack on a US military base. He was sentenced to death and has said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The plan would have been the first US military execution by firing squad since 1945 and the first public execution in the modern United States. The last public execution in the country was in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged in Kentucky. Critics said a live stream would put the US alongside countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea, and would amount to torture under international law. The United Nations said the live streaming of an execution would breach the absolute prohibition of torture. Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the idea beyond disgusting. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said it was reminiscent of Islamic State executions. UK Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson called the plans disturbing.
Even within the administration there were doubts. Vice President JD Vance said he did not know whether the live stream would actually happen and that he would not watch it. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed doubt, according to reports. Pentagon officials have said Trump and Hegseth discussed the decision and are aligned, though the announcement had earlier appeared to catch the White House off guard.
Survivors and victims' families were divided. Alonzo Lunsford, a former sergeant who was shot seven times, said Hasan's method of execution was fitting and that he wanted to be present, but he opposed showing it to the general public because children should not see it. Kayleigh Cahill-Vanica, whose father Michael was killed, said she was glad the live stream had been dropped. She said families had not been consulted and that a live stream would not bring peace or justice.
Hasan's execution is still set for 3 December, though a full legal review of his sentence has not been completed and appeals could delay it. The case has also revived debate about the death penalty in the US after Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in Tennessee last week. Tennessee has paused executions while the failure is investigated. Hasan was paralysed after being shot during his attack and is confined to a wheelchair.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 5 or more of 6 channels | ||||||
| Pete Hegseth announced that the execution of a former US Army Major by firing squad would be live streamed and available for public viewing. | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2–4 channels | ||||||
| Nidal Hasan killed 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The vice president doubted the public execution would take place and said he would not watch. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | |
| Trump decided against a live stream of Nidal Hasan's execution, which will still go ahead by firing squad. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | ||||
| A survivor of the attack opposed showing the execution uncensored. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |||
| Nidal Hasan is scheduled to be executed in early December at Fort Hood, Texas. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |||
| Nidal Hasan received a death sentence for the November 2009 Fort Hood attack in Texas, which killed 13 people and wounded 32. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | ||
| Nidal Hasan was convicted over the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas. | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| The execution would be the first US military execution by firing squad since the end of World War II. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Reported by Sky News | ||
| There has been no public execution in the modern-era United States, with the last public execution reported as about 90 years ago. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | ||
| A full legal review of Hasan's sentence has not been completed and he is likely to appeal. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Criticism of the no-livestream decision came from Republicans, civil rights groups and Democrats. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | ||
| President Trump approved the decision. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| President Trump said the live stream of the execution was yet to be determined. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | ||
| The UN characterised the decision as torture and a Democratic senator compared it to Islamic State killings. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Only on one channel | ||||||
| A military justice attorney said he was not convinced the execution would take place. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Christa Pike survived two attempts to execute her by lethal injection. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Kayleigh Cahill-Vanica said families were not consulted about the live stream and learned of it through media, text message or social media. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson described plans to live stream the execution as disturbing. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Only a handful of countries carry out public executions. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC's rolling news coverage treated the story as a fast-moving political row. Its early reports focused on Hegseth's announcement and the unprecedented nature of a public execution, then shifted to bipartisan criticism, UN objections and finally Trump's Truth Social reversal. It also set the debate in the wider context of US military discipline and death penalty controversies.
- “Pete Hegseth, has announced that the execution of a former US Army Major by firing squad will be live streamed and available for public viewing.”
- “He will die as scheduled by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”
- “The United Nations says it would amount to torture”
Sky News framed the story around the shock of making an execution public, with correspondents stressing the legal and ethical unknowns. It gave airtime to a military justice expert who doubted the execution would happen before Trump left office, and it tracked the political retreat from Hegseth's announcement to Trump's veto. The channel also linked the debate to the botched execution of Christa Pike.
- “An execution streamed live for people to watch That's what America's self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is promising”
- “Donald Trump has vetoed plans by his defence secretary to livestream the execution of a former army major responsible for killing 13 people at a Texan army base back in 2009.”
- “if it's all through live stream, I'm not gonna be watching it”
ITV1 carried the story as a political and diplomatic embarrassment for the US, leading on UK Labour criticism and later on JD Vance's doubts. Its lunchtime bulletin stressed Pentagon confirmation and the historical rarity of a firing squad execution, while its evening report contrasted Trump's defiance with bipartisan revulsion and comparisons to Iran and Afghanistan. The available transcripts do not include the final cancellation.
- “The Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson has called plans to live stream an execution in the US disturbing.”
- “Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America.”
- “if it's all through livestream, I'm not going to be watching it”
5 News covered the story through the practical and moral questions of public execution. It explained the rarity of firing squads and listed the few countries that execute people publicly, while giving space to a survivor who wanted to attend but opposed broadcasting. It also linked the case to the botched execution of Christa Pike.
- “It's 60 years since anyone was executed by a firing squad in the United States and almost 90 years since the country's last public execution.”
- “We don't do public executions in the United States. It also puts us in terrible, terrible company.”
- “I want him to see me. I want to see him. I want to lock eyes so he can understand you reap what you sow.”
BBC ONE West combined national rolling coverage with regional bulletins, focusing on criticism from the UN and politicians and then confirming Trump's U-turn. It repeatedly highlighted the lack of modern precedent for a public execution and the likely legal challenges. Its reporting gave prominent voice to a survivor who opposed live streaming.
- “North Korea and Iran. Those are countries, the kind of countries that have public executions in this era. It's terrible company for the United States to be in.”
- “Donald Trump has decided there will be no live stream of the execution of a mass murderer”
- “The live streaming of an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture”
Channel 4 treated the announcement as part of a broader erosion of democratic norms, with a report that linked it to state violence and the spectacle of execution. It gave significant space to a victim's daughter who opposed the live stream and said families were not consulted. Its later coverage led on Trump's reversal and the political damage to Hegseth.
- “President Trump, however, has approved the decision.”
- “it is not going to go ahead because Donald Trump said today”
- “A live streaming event does not bring peace or justice for any of us.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.