Vance doubts Pentagon will livestream Fort Hood shooter's execution
Vice President JD Vance said Friday he doubts the Pentagon will livestream the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, and that he would not watch it. His comments undercut Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's announced plan, which lawmakers in both parties have condemned. The execution is set for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood.
Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on the Pentagon's plan to stream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan online.
"I don't know that that's actually going to happen," Vance told reporters on his way to a campaign stop in Ohio, CBS News reported. "If it's ultimately livestreamed, I'm not going to be watching it." He called Hasan's 2009 attack "the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11."
That put Vance at odds with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A day earlier, Hegseth said Hasan would face a firing squad of soldiers, "and we'll make sure that people are able to watch it," NBC News reported. On Friday, a Pentagon spokesperson told the BBC the execution "will be livestreamed" but gave no other details.
President Trump backs the firing squad. "I really don't care how he goes as long as he goes," he told ABC News, according to NBC News. Asked about the stream, he said, "they're making a determination about that."
The plan drew fire from both parties. Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, said broadcasting a death "diminishes us" and urged Hegseth to reconsider, NBC News reported. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said it would make society "coarser." Rep. Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, said livestreaming executions "is what jihadists do," Roll Call reported. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called it "a mockery of our legal system." Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, backed it: "We will be watching."
Army rules generally do not allow public executions, though a top Army official can waive parts of them, Roll Call reported. If it goes ahead, it would be the first public execution in the U.S. in 90 years.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas. The execution is set for Dec. 3. The military last executed anyone in 1961, and last used a firing squad in 1945, NBC News reported.
What we know: The Pentagon still says the execution will be streamed, while Vance doubts it.
What we don't: Who makes the final call, and where any stream would appear.
Where outlets agree NBC News and CBS News both report that Vance said he doubted the livestream would happen and that he would not watch it if it did.
Where they differ CBS News reported that Trump had not commented publicly on the livestream, while the BBC reported he said he "absolutely" approved of it but that the Pentagon was still "making a determination."