Pentagon Sets Dec. 3 Fort Hood Firing-Squad Execution Date For Nidal Hasan
An email to victims' families says Nidal Malik Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood on December 3, 2026.[1]
The notice said family members of the 13 people killed and survivors were notified of the date before it was made public and were asked whether they wish to attend.[1] Army Regulation 190-55 procedures cited in the notice require presidential approval for a military execution and call for the commandant to inform the prisoner in person with a chaplain and, if available, defense counsel present.[1] The plan would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.[1]
On November 5, 2009, Hasan carried out the Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people.[1] The Defense Department announced on October 8 that the execution would be livestreamed, a decision that drew international criticism including statements from Pope Leo XIV, Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and U.S. Catholic leaders.[2]
President Donald Trump canceled plans to livestream the December 3 execution on October 15, reversing the Defense Department's earlier announcement.[3] Trump had told reporters he approved of Hasan's execution by firing squad, saying, "I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes," and Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch and questioned whether a livestream would actually happen.[2]
Show source details & analysis (4 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- An email sent to victims' families states that Nidal Hasan is scheduled to be executed on December 3, 2026 (Nidal Hasan).
- The execution is planned to take place at Fort Hood — the same base where Hasan carried out the November 5, 2009, shooting — and will be carried out by firing squad; it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 (Fort Hood).
- Family members of those killed and survivors were notified of the planned execution date before the public announcement and were asked whether they wish to attend (family members).
- The report cites Army Regulation 190-55 procedures, including that the president must approve a military execution and that the prisoner is informed in person by the commandant with a chaplain and, if available, defense counsel present (Army Regulation 190-55).
- The article lists the 13 people killed in the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting (13 people).
- The Defense Department announced on October 8, 2026 that Hasan’s December 3 execution would be livestreamed, but President Donald Trump canceled plans to livestream the execution on October 15, 2026 (President Donald Trump).
- Pope Leo XIV said on October 10, 2026 that the death penalty is 'inadmissible'; Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin called the planned U.S. livestream 'truly incomprehensible' and 'unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle,' and Archbishop Paul Coakley called the Pentagon’s livestream decision a 'barbaric promotion of a culture of death' (Pope Leo XIV).
- On October 9, 2026, President Donald Trump told reporters he approves of Hasan’s execution by firing squad, saying 'I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes,' while Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch and questioned whether the livestream would actually happen (Vice President JD Vance).
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On Thursday, October 15, 2026, President Donald Trump canceled previously announced plans to livestream the December 3, 2026, execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.
- Trump’s cancellation reverses an October 8, 2026, Defense Department announcement that the execution would be livestreamed.
- On Thursday, October 8, 2026, the U.S. Defense Department announced that Nidal Malik Hasan’s December 3, 2026 firing-squad execution at Fort Hood will be livestreamed.
- On Saturday, October 10, 2026, Pope Leo XIV posted on X for the World Day Against the Death Penalty, declaring capital punishment "inadmissible" and quoting revised Catholic teaching that the death penalty attacks human dignity and is unnecessary to protect society.
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said in comments reported by Vatican News that the planned U.S. livestreamed execution is "truly incomprehensible" and "unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle."
- Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement Friday, October 9, 2026, calling the Pentagon’s livestream decision a "barbaric promotion of a culture of death" and urging it be reconsidered.
- On Friday, October 9, 2026, President Donald Trump told reporters he approves of Hasan’s execution by firing squad and said, "I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes," while not directly addressing whether the livestream is appropriate.
- Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, told reporters on Friday, October 9, 2026 that he would not watch the execution and added, "I don't know that that's actually going to happen," casting doubt on the livestream plan.
- The article notes that Leo’s @Pontifex message did not explicitly mention Hasan or the Tennessee botched execution of Christa Pike, but it was posted just hours after Parolin’s explicit condemnation of the U.S. livestream plan.
- An email sent to victims' families states that Nidal Hasan is scheduled to be executed on December 3, 2026.
- The execution is planned to take place at Fort Hood, the same base where Hasan carried out the 2009 shooting.
- The article reiterates that Hasan will be executed by firing squad and notes this will be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
- Family members of those killed and survivors were notified of the planned execution date before public announcement and were asked if they wish to attend.
- The report cites Army Regulation 190-55 procedures, including that the president must approve a military execution and that the prisoner is informed in person by the commandant with a chaplain and, if available, defense counsel present.
- The article lists by name the 13 people killed in the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting.