Topic of the Week: Pentagon Announces Hasan Execution by Firing Squad to be Livestreamed

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that Nidal Hasan’s December execution by firing squad would be livestreamed. Former Army Major Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Our analysts rated media coverage about Hegseth’s announcement and the reaction to it in our Topic of the Week. President Trump announced on Thursday that the Pentagon would no longer livestream the execution.

A video from the Ryan McBeth YouTube channel lays out the history of military executions and specifically explains death by firing squad. Hasan’s execution would be the first by the U.S. military in 65 years. McBeth reads directly from the 1944 Army manual detailing the processes and procedures for death by firing squad, the update in 2006, and the superseding document in 2023. He also clearly outlines Hasan’s crime, the sentencing, and how the legal and punitive chain of command works. Analysts rated the video as a “mix of fact reporting and analysis” with a “middle” bias.

An article from ABC News focuses on Hegseth’s decision to livestream the execution. It includes comments from President Trump, who says a determination hasn’t yet been made on whether to livestream it, and from Vice President J.D. Vance, who says if the execution is broadcast, he won’t watch it. Reaction from other former administration officials and lawmakers is included, as well as details about the Army’s plans to carry out the execution. Analysts rated the article and the video that accompanies it as a “mix of fact reporting and analysis” with a “middle” bias.

An article from Salon features a reaction to Hegseth’s announcement from one Trump official, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The article includes comments Mullin made during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” When asked if livestreaming the execution could encourage radicalization, Mullin replied, “No one has to watch it.” The article includes comments from those who both oppose and support the livestream. Analysts noted that this article is rereporting from other sources, categorizing it as “simple fact reporting” with a “middle” bias.

The National Review takes a stand on the issue of livestreaming Hasan’s execution. Its opinion article begins with the headline: “Don’t Make Martyrs Out of Terrorists” and includes comments from those opposed to live broadcasting the execution. “Few men deserve death more richly,” writes author Jeffrey Blehar, but Hegseth “put on his Bad Idea jeans” when deciding to livestream it. Blehar says Hasan has spent the last 13 years “devastated that he failed in his final appointed task in life — to die as a glorious martyr for the cause of radical Islam. Why give Hasan the victory he so eagerly craves by turning him into a public martyr for our enemies to fixate upon? Death is supposed to be a penalty, not a reward.” Analysts noted that this author is in favor of the death penalty but against publicly broadcasting executions, rating the article as “analysis” with a “middle” bias.

In a video from the Fox News show, “Outnumbered,” host Kayleigh McEnany asks a panel of contributors about Hegseth’s decision to livestream Hasan’s execution: “Is this justice, a warning, or a line that America should never cross?” John Yoo, former law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, says Hasan deserves the death penalty because he “shot and killed men and women in the armed forces on a base during wartime.” He said it should be livestreamed because the death penalty is designed to deter people from committing crimes, and he doubts it would radicalize others: “I don’t think that livestreaming is going to make [terrorists] hate America any more than they already hate the United States.” Fox News New York host Rosanna Scotto disagrees, saying livestreaming is “too extreme. Do we want to be in the same category as Iran and Afghanistan? I don’t think we are ready for it here in the States.” Podcaster Tomi Lahren says Hasan got his day in court, and that’s what makes the U.S. different from Mideast countries that conduct public executions. “If something is OK to do, why is it not OK to see?” she asks. Contributor Kaylee McGhee White says the livestream is “for the benefit of the soldiers who were betrayed,” not for the public. Analysts noted that most commenters on this video favor the public execution of Hasan. It was rated as “opinion” with a “skews right” bias.

Finally, an opinion article from The Guardian says in its headline that Hegseth “has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low” and the livestream “opens a window ever wider to the Trump administration’s complete moral vacuity.” Writer Paul Daley calls Hegseth “one of the Trump cabinet’s bigger boofheads,” an “uber Christian nationalist, crusader-fantasist.” He describes his “execution TV” as “state-sanctioned killing as entertainment” and an “audacious appeal to American society’s darker angels.” Daley, an Australian, calls on Australia and other world leaders to condemn plans to livestream the execution. “How much further into the moral quagmire must America wallow before Australia rethinks its craven military dependence on Washington?” he asks. “You can’t choose your family. But you can choose your friends and allies. And you can also tell them firmly when they’ve careened off the ethical rails.” Analysts noted that the article includes several insults and vilifications of Hegseth and Trump. They rated it as “opinion” with a “strong left” bias.

Follow along with our weekly Topic of the Week exercise by visiting our website. New Topics of the Week are posted each Monday. Read the articles and watch the videos yourself, then come back on Wednesday to compare your scores with our analysts. Learn more here.

Beth Heldebrandt is Director of Communications at Ad Fontes Media. She has more than 35 years of experience in the fields of journalism and public relations, and was an adjunct instructor of journalism for 17 years at Eastern Illinois University. Beth has a B.A. in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and an M.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University. She’s a mom and grandma, and enjoys traveling, puzzles and reading.