OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump says the execution of former Army major Nidal Malik Hasan will proceed by firing squad but will not be livestreamed, reversing plans to broadcast the death of the man convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.In a statement posted to Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said broadcasting the execution could have deterred future terrorist attacks, but acknowledged that many Americans would rather not watch someone die.“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan,” Trump wrote.He added that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump said.The president said immediate family members of the victims would still be permitted to attend the execution in person.“They deserve to witness JUSTICE!” he wrote.Trump also used the announcement to criticize the FBI's handling of intelligence about Hasan before the November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, Texas..The former Army psychiatrist killed 13 people, including a pregnant soldier, and wounded 32 others.Trump described Hasan as a “former U.S. Army Major turned traitor” and a “very bad and evil man.”He pointed to electronic communications intercepted by the FBI between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric who was later killed in a U.S. drone strike.“Barack Hussein Obama’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted electronic communications between Hasan and the radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki,” Trump wrote.“When reviewed by his FBI terrorism task force, investigators concluded that Hasan's emails were not a threat.”Trump called that assessment a major intelligence failure under the Obama administration.“This assessment of the Obama Administration’s actions was later considered to be a key intelligence failure,” he said.The FBI's handling of Hasan's communications with al-Awlaki was scrutinized following the shooting, with subsequent investigations identifying shortcomings in how federal authorities assessed the warning signs.Hasan was convicted by a military court in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He was sentenced to death.The execution is scheduled for December 3 and would be the first carried out under the U.S. military justice system since 1961, if it proceeds.Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously announced plans to livestream the execution, prompting objections over whether the federal government should publicly broadcast the killing of a condemned prisoner.Trump's Thursday announcement maintains the execution date and method while restricting attendance to those permitted to witness it in person.
