Execution of US military base shooter to be broadcast live online

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that Hasan's execution would be "public," according to a video clip released by the Pentagon on Thursday.

Nidal Hasan, a Palestinian-American, opened fire on November 5, 2009, inside a medical center at Fort Hood, in an effort to prevent soldiers from participating in what he considered an "illegal" war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The attack, carried out by someone described as a "lone wolf" linked to Al-Qaeda, resulted in the death of 13 people, including 12 soldiers, and left about 30 others wounded.

Hasan's execution will be the first of its kind carried out by the US military since 1961.

Hegseth told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec in a video clip posted on the X platform and shared by official Pentagon accounts, "He will be executed by firing squad at the hands of a squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we will ensure that people can watch it, and that it is public."

Hegseth, who was visiting the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, added, "People need to realize that there are... dire consequences for such actions."

According to Amnesty International, at least 17 public executions were recorded last year, including six in Afghanistan and 11 in Iran.

A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in 2013 for carrying out the mass shooting at Fort Hood in an attack inspired by Al-Qaeda.

During the trial, sessions revealed that Hasan had been communicating online with a figure believed to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the radical American preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in 2011 in a US drone strike in Yemen.

President Donald Trump had approved the execution of Hasan by firing squad.