Even Mike Johnson is warning Trump not to livestream execution of Fort Hood attacker

House Speaker Mike Johnson has become the highest-ranking Republican to voice reservations about the Pentagon's intention to broadcast the December 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who carried out the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Johnson said he had not yet raised the matter with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but that some House Republicans were uneasy. His fear is that extremists could exploit footage as a recruiting tool. He said he would not watch and wanted the White House to know opinion within his conference was divided, according to The Independent.

Hegseth disclosed the plan in an interview with Jack Posobiec, saying the public should see that such crimes carry serious consequences. A Pentagon official later told The Independent the event would be livestreamed. Military law requires presidential approval of a court-martial death sentence, and the Pentagon says Trump has approved. Trump has said he will make the final decision on the broadcast. Vance has said he would not watch.

A military jury convicted Hasan on 45 counts of murder in 2013 for an attack that killed 13 people and wounded 32. It would be the first military execution since 1961.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →