Trump reconsiders livestream of Fort Hood firing squad execution after learning Hasan is paralyzed

President Donald Trump and his advisers are debating whether to abandon plans to livestream the December 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, after Trump privately said he did not initially know the Fort Hood shooter was paralyzed from the waist down, CNN reported.

Two sources familiar with the discussions said Trump learned of Hasan’s paralysis and wheelchair use only while polling advisers and allies after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X on Thursday that the Pentagon planned to broadcast the execution. The disclosure made the public spectacle less palatable to the president, according to the sources.

Trump was not aware that Hegseth was announcing last week that the administration planned to let the public watch, the sources said, and was not sure what to make of it at first. Multiple officials told CNN that Trump remained firmly behind the decision to execute Hasan by firing squad and has often defended the method in public.

One source pointed to Trump’s deep understanding of imagery as a key reason he may decide to ditch the livestream. A Trump adviser said the president has also listened to the argument that a public execution by firing squad could serve as propaganda for foreign adversaries and terrorist groups seeking to paint Hasan as a martyr.

The White House on Tuesday referred CNN to the president’s comments on Saturday, when he acknowledged “two thoughts” about what to do and said he would make the ultimate decision. “He was vicious. He was violent,” Trump told reporters about Hasan over the weekend. “There are two thoughts: Don’t show it and show it. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So, I’ll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”

The Pentagon is also reevaluating plans to fully livestream the execution, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Even if a broadcast occurs, the source said, it is likely to be cut before shots are fired, in part because of concerns that the moment could offer a propaganda opportunity for terrorist groups. Hegseth’s office has not responded to additional requests for comment about whether the livestream plans have changed.

The proposal to livestream the execution has drawn bipartisan backlash, and people across the Pentagon and the Army were caught off guard, CNN has previously reported. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not involved in the decision but said, “I understand the decision,” adding that some people “want to set an example” by livestreaming the execution.

Hegseth initially recommended death by firing squad for Hasan, and Trump approved it. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. He was shot in the back by law enforcement during that attack, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and dependent on a wheelchair.

The scheduled execution would be the U.S. Army’s first such execution of a soldier since World War II and its first imposition of any death penalty on an armed service member in 65 years.

A U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, Hasan said he was targeting soldiers he was set to deploy with to Afghanistan and wanted to protect the Taliban and its leaders from the U.S. military.

The final decision remains in Trump’s hands, and the Pentagon’s review leaves open whether a broadcast will be trimmed or canceled altogether before the December execution date.

Reporting by CNN. Read the original report: Trump debates calling off livestream of firing squad execution after learning Fort Hood shooter was paralyzed.