Pete Hegseth, acting as Acting Secretary of Defense, proposed livestreaming the execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. This suggestion has drawn criticism from various political figures and the UN human rights office, with many comparing it to ISIS tactics and deeming it a violation of international law. Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Jon Ossoff have all condemned Hegseth's plan as inappropriate for America, likening it to practices of oppressive regimes.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting spree that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3, 2023, at Fort Hood, Texas. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced this decision after President Donald Trump authorized it following a recommendation from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The execution will take place at 2 p.m. EST and will be livestreamed publicly to emphasize the "serious consequences" for such acts.
Hasan was tried and convicted in 2013 by a military jury, which sentenced him to death. He has been on military death row since then. This execution marks the first US military execution in over 60 years and is set to be carried out at the same base where he committed his crime. The timing of the execution aligns with the approximate time and day (Thursday) when Hasan launched his attack, making it a symbolic move.
Former Army Major Nidal Hasan claimed his motivation was anger about being deployed to Afghanistan and a desire to protect Islamic leaders from US troops. His scheduled execution highlights the government's stance on military justice and public awareness of consequences for such attacks.
Written for “Firing Squad Execution Fort Hood Shooter” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 40 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 5 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 68268: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-09
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Pete Hegseth has been accused of breaching international law and compared to ISIS over his plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan.
asserted
Hegseth → sign → Hasan
The UN human rights office said on Friday that broadcasting the killing ‘is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture.’
asserted
broadcasting → say → torture
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy went further, asking on live television: ‘What is he mimicking?
asserted
he → go → What
The backlash crossed party lines, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis declaring that public executions are ‘what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do.’
asserted
dictatorships → cross → Iran
‘It should not be happening in America,’ the North Carolina senator wrote on X late Thursday, adding that streaming the death was ‘beyond disgusting.’
Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff told MS Now on Thursday night that the Defense Secretary is ‘a deeply unwell person who seems to relish this kind of brutality.’
Hegseth revealed the plan while speaking from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln to conservative influencer Jack Posobiec on Real America’s Voice on Thursday.
asserted
Hegseth → happen → Thursday
‘We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,’ he said, adding: ‘People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.’
asserted
People → make → things
The UN human rights office said on Friday that broadcasting the killing ‘is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture'
asserted
broadcasting → say → torture
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, shot dead 12 soldiers and one civilian at the Texas base on November 5, 2009, in the deadliest attack ever carried out on a US military installation
His standing inside Trump’s inner circle has only grown in recent months, as Hegseth was one of the few cabinet members to back going to war with Iran in its earliest days.
asserted
Hegseth → shoot → days
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, shot dead 12 soldiers and one civilian at the Texas base on November 5, 2009, in the deadliest attack ever carried out on a US military installation.
asserted
Hasan → shoot → installation
The Pentagon announced on Monday that Hegseth had recommended, and Donald Trump approved, his death by Army firing squad, the first military execution since 1961.
asserted
Trump → announce → 1961
Murphy was told of the livestream plan on air by CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday night and said he was hearing it for the first time.
asserted
he → tell → time
‘I understand that in this country we have the death penalty, but public executions is medieval,’ he said, calling it ‘one of the things that we abhor about terrorist groups.’
asserted
we → understand → groups
Tillis said Hasan ‘should face the death penalty’ but drew the line at making it public.
asserted
it → say → line
Ossoff accused Hegseth of staging an ‘obscene medieval spectacle’ while ‘running a department that is falling into chaos.’
‘The guy cannot run the military competently,’ he said.
asserted
he → accuse → military
The War Secretary has faced months of criticism over his handling of the Iran war after Tehran managed to shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Yet his standing inside Trump’s inner circle has only grown, as Hegseth was one of the few cabinet members to back going to war with Iran in its earliest days.
asserted
Hegseth → face → days
The War Secretary has faced months of criticism over his handling of the Iran war after Tehran managed to shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that public executions ‘constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,’ the same stance it has taken on Iran and Afghanistan.
asserted
it → face → Iran
Hasan, who was paralyzed when he was shot by police during the rampage, was convicted on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in 2013.
asserted
he → paralyze → 2013
Army rules require the sentence to be carried out within 150 days of the president’s approval.
asserted
sentence → require → approval
The Aporia
