US President Donald Trump on Thursday called off plans for a live-stream broadcast of the execution of a former US army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at a military base in Texas in 2009.
The plan to broadcast the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan was this month proposed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, but was withdrawn after condemnation, including from within Mr Trump's own political circle.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the execution by firing squad would proceed as planned but would not be broadcast live.
“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," he wrote. "But many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming or through any other visual device.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed.”
Mr Trump said the victims’ immediate families could witness the execution in person if they wished.
Hasan, a former major, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. He later described his shooting spree as retaliation for US wars in the Muslim world.
Now 56, the son of Palestinian immigrants was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan before the shooting.
Hasan was left paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair after being shot by police during his arrest.
Mr Trump initially said he had not been involved in the decision to broadcast the execution but understood its rationale.
“They want to do that because they want to set an example. I wasn't involved in that decision, but I understand the decision,” he said last week.
But the proposal drew scepticism and condemnation, including from figures in Mr Trump’s own circle.
Vice President JD Vance expressed reservations, saying he doubted the Pentagon would go ahead with the plan and that he would not watch if it did.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, issued a statement questioning the morality and purpose of broadcasting the execution. He warned that it could cause “moral injury” to the service members carrying it out and called on Catholic soldiers assigned to the firing squad to seek an exemption.
“Do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries? The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?” he wrote.
The controversy has raised questions about the administration’s judgment and its approach to capital punishment, legal experts said, as Mr Trump faces increasing political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Mr Trump is dealling with low approval ratings as Americans increasingly blame him for rising costs and express disapproval of his handling of the war in Iran. On November 3, voters will decide which party controls Congress.
“It's nonsensical, the way this has developed. The administration is not playing with a full deck,” said Eugene Fidell, a military law expert at Yale Law School.
“This is totally tone-deaf. It's very revealing of how out of touch this administration is, and seemingly how little supervision there is."
Mr Fidell also said a public execution would have gone against international human rights standards.
The proposed use of a firing squad adds to the controversy. The US military has not carried out an execution by firing squad since 1945.
The debate comes as capital punishment and execution methods face renewed scrutiny. Last month, Christa Pike, who was convicted of killing a friend in the 1990s, survived a botched execution attempt in Tennessee involving lethal injection. She was left badly injured.
Daniel Urman, a constitutional law expert at Northeastern University, said Mr Hegseth and Mr Trump may have regarded the proposal as a way to project American strength but miscalculated the reaction it would provoke.
“It does capture the Trump administration in the second term, where it looks like there's been an impulsive plan set out that might get walked back and might end up being embarrassing for them,” he said.
“I think it's a headache he doesn't need. I think he's heard from members of his own party that it's a bad idea. And he needs his own party to stand by him.”
Hasan's execution is scheduled for December 3, and it is unclear if any legal challenges could delay it.
