Donald Trump calls off livestream of man due to be executed by firing squad
Donald Trump has now called off the plans to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood attacker.
Nidal Hasan had been set to become the first person to be publicly executed in the US in almost 90 years.
The former US army major had killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others in a mass shooting at the Texas army base in 2009, and has been incarcerated awaiting his death.
But following major criticism over the plans for the public display, Trump said on Thursday that 'many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die'.
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Hasan's execution was due to be streamed to public
It had previously been announced by the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that the public would be able to tune in to to watch the firing squad execution in real time.
Hasan had been sentenced to death by a military court and is set to become the first service member to be executed by armed forces since 1961.
At Hasan's trial, he said he had ‘switched sides’ and claimed he’d carried out the deadly attack out of a wish to protect Islamic and Taliban leaders from US troops.
Trump had previously said he approved of the livestream, before the apparent U-turn. He had been due to be killed on 3 December.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on last week: “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by US Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009.
"He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack.
"The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."
Parnell also explained why the Pentagon had decided to go ahead with a public execution, saying: "People need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Livestream decision sparked criticism
The decision to broadcast the state-sanctioned killing sparked fierce debate among lawmakers and human rights advocates.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in, saying he was not sure if the federal government would have actually livestreamed the execution, adding that if it did he would not watch it.
A senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. also criticised the decision, writing on social media:"I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that."
The decision was also described as being ‘unprecedented in the modern era’ by death row lawyer John Mills.
He told the BBC: "Seeking to make it live-streamed, a firing squad execution, is little more than attention-seeking by the Trump administration and is unlikely to occur, much less deliver any semblance of justice."
Topics: US News, Donald Trump
James Holt