Hegseth: Military will publicly execute Fort Hood shooter

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that the military plans to make the execution of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan a public event, marking the first public execution in the U.S. in nearly 100 years and the first military execution in over half a century. Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3.

Hegseth stated in an interview that the execution would be carried out by soldiers at the base where the crimes occurred. "He’s going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be," Hegseth said. "And we’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things." The Trump White House has characterized Hasan's actions as terrorism. Hasan has been held on death row at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas since his 2013 conviction.