The execution of former US Army Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, is expected to be livestreamed, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.
Hasan’s execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas and would be carried out by firing squad, according to Hegseth. It would mark the first US military execution in more than 60 years.
Speaking in an interview with conservative television outlet Real America’s Voice, Hegseth said Hasan would face a firing squad made up of soldiers.
“He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be,” he said.
Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted President Donald Trump, Hegseth replied: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd.”
The Pentagon said earlier this week that Trump had approved Hegseth’s recommendation to proceed with the execution.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted killing 13 soldiers in a crowded medical building at Fort Hood.
During his 2013 court-martial, he apologised for “any mistakes” and said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Army Regulation 190-55, which governs military executions, prohibits people under 18 from witnessing them.
America's last public execution occurred in 1936, when a black man convicted of raping a white woman was hanged in front of thousands in Kentucky.
