Trump silent on Pentagon plan to live-stream execution of Fort Hood shooter

• Trump backed the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, and called it “final justice” for the 2009 attack that killed 13 people.
• The Pentagon plans to livestream the military firing squad execution on Dec 3 at Fort Hood, a first for the US military since 1945.
• The plan has sparked criticism from some Republicans, including Senator Thom Tillis, who called public executions “beyond disgusting” and likened them to oppressive dictatorships.

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the Pentagon’s unprecedented plan to live-stream the military execution of the gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in 2009.

Speaking at a White House event on Oct 9, Trump said former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan would be executed by firing squad.

But he made no comment on the plan announced by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Oct 8.

Trump, who has approved the execution, told a rally in Texas on Oct 7 that “we are going to deliver final justice to an evil killer.”

The White House has directed all questions to the Pentagon.

Some Republican lawmakers and conservative strategists have criticised the decision.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the idea “beyond disgusting” in a social media post.

“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” said the senator, a frequent Trump critic who is not running for reelection. “It should not be happening in America.”

Hasan is set to become the first person to be executed by US military firing squad since 1945.

The execution is scheduled for Dec 3 at the same sprawling Texas base where Hasan opened fire with a handgun in a medical facility. REUTERS