Hegseth says execution of Fort Hood shooter to be public

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Thursday told Human Events Daily that the military would allow the public to view the execution of Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

The execution by firing squad will mark the military's first execution in decades and is set for Dec. 3. of this year. Hasan was convicted of murder over his 2009 rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, during which he shouted "Allahu Akbar."

"It was a radical Islamist attack in uniform inside the ranks, and so he's going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be," Hegseth said. "And we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that this is there's serious consequences for these types of things."

The U.S. military last executed someone in 1961, when it hanged Private John Bennett at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. The last military execution by firing squad took place in January 1945, when the military executed Private Eddie Slovik for desertion.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.