JD Vance Declines to Watch Live-Streamed Execution of Fort Hood Shooter

Vice President JD Vance stated on Friday that he will not watch the planned live-streamed execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan and expressed skepticism about whether the broadcast will take place. Vance made these remarks to reporters, as captured in C-SPAN footage, following the Pentagon's announcement that Hasan's execution by firing squad is scheduled for December 3 and would be streamed for public viewing. Vance, who identifies as a Catholic and has expressed support for the death penalty, was questioned about reconciling his faith with the decision to stream the execution. He referred to Hasan as someone who 'brutally murdered' innocent individuals. Vance said, 'If it’s ultimately live-streamed, I’m not going to be watching it,' and added, 'I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen. Let’s sort of see.' Secretary of War Pete Hegseth indicated to Real America’s Voice that the execution would be streamed, framing it as a warning to the public. Hegseth stated, 'We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.' The execution is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., coinciding with the time Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood in 2009 while shouting 'Allahu Akbar.' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr mentioned that the matter is outside his agency's jurisdiction and indicated that the FCC would defer to Secretary Hegseth regarding the broadcast. Meta has prohibited live-streamed capital punishment on Facebook and Instagram since 2019, while TikTok has a policy against depicting death. Responses from Meta, YouTube, and X regarding their handling of the footage were not provided. The United Nations and Amnesty International have condemned the execution plan, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops labeling it 'a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.' Hillary Clinton also referred to the idea as 'barbaric.' President Donald Trump approved the execution earlier this week and defended it at a Columbus Day event, stating, 'We’re giving a man the death penalty … through firing squad, and he deserves it.' Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted in 2013 for the murder of 13 individuals at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center. His execution would mark the first by the United States military since 1961, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.