President Trump announced he was cancelling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s proposal to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army major convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 32. Trump stated the decision was made because “many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die.” Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, following his military court death sentence imposed in August 2013.
Hegseth had announced the previous week that the execution would be made available for public viewing, characterizing the original attack as “a radical Islamist attack in uniform inside the ranks.” Despite Trump’s cancellation of the livestreaming plan, several figures within Hegseth’s religious circles expressed support for public executions. Douglas Wilson, a prominent pastor and founding figure in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), which Hegseth attends, stated a preference for public executions over private ones conducted in prisons. Wilson cited biblical precedent, noting that “executions in the scriptures were public,” though he acknowledged that livestreaming the event could lead to problematic behavior.
CREC pastors have long advocated capital punishment for various offenses including murder, rape, abortion, and other crimes, according to scholars studying Christian reconstructionism, a theological movement with which Wilson has identified. Joshua Haymes, a podcaster associated with Hegseth’s former church in Tennessee, has repeatedly called for reinstituting public executions as a deterrent to violent crime. The positions held by these religious figures stand in contrast to statements from other religious leaders, including the Pope and the U.S. military’s archbishop, Timothy Broglio, who condemned Hegseth’s original execution livestreaming proposal.
When contacted, an unidentified Department of Defense spokesperson stated in an email that “the secretary is correct. It will be livestreamed. Details will follow,” suggesting the execution would still be broadcast despite Trump’s stated cancellation of the plan.
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