Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the public will be able to watch the scheduled firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former U.S. Army major convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
Hasan’s execution is scheduled for December 3 at 1 p.m. at Fort Hood, Texas, after President Donald Trump approved the use of a firing squad following Hegseth’s recommendation.
Speaking with Jack Posobiec on Human Events Daily, Hegseth said the execution would take place at the same military installation where Hasan carried out the deadly attack.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth said, adding that he wanted people to understand that there are “serious consequences” for such acts.
When Posobiec asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or contacted the president, Hegseth responded: “Don’t care. We’ll see him December 3.”
Hegseth on firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan: ‘we’ll make sure that people are able to WATCH it, that it’s PUBLIC’
POSOBIEC: ‘Has Major Hasan made any final requests, to your knowledge?’
HEGSETH: ‘Don’t care. We’ll see him December 3rd’ https://t.co/apyECYccrV— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) October 8, 2026
Hegseth Calls 2009 Shooting a Terror Attack
During the interview, Hegseth repeatedly described Hasan as a “radical Islamist” and characterized the 2009 Fort Hood shooting as a “radical Islamist terror attack.”
Those descriptions were Hegseth’s own characterization of the attack.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, opened fire at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others. He was convicted by a military jury in 2013 of premeditated murder and attempted murder and sentenced to death.
During his trial, Hasan acknowledged that he was the shooter and said he had “switched sides” because of U.S. military actions in Muslim countries.
What Does “Public” Mean?
Despite Hegseth’s statement, the Defense Department has not yet explained exactly how members of the public would be able to watch the execution.
It remains unclear whether “public” would mean attendance by selected witnesses and journalists, a broader viewing arrangement, or some form of broadcast.
If the execution proceeds as scheduled, it would be the first execution carried out by the U.S. military since 1961 and the first military execution by firing squad since 1945.
Hasan may still pursue additional legal challenges before the December 3 execution date.
Sources: The Washington Post, Reuters, Human Events / interview with Pete Hegseth and Jack Posobiec.
By NJ RADAR Team