Americans Oppose Livestreaming Fort Hood Shooter's Execution, Poll Shows
An overwhelming majority of Americans, across partisan lines, do not want the execution of Nidal Hasan to be broadcast, though a slim majority supports the execution itself.
A vast majority of Americans oppose livestreaming the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army officer convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
Eight in 10 Americans stated that Hasan's execution should not be livestreamed. The poll, conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel, revealed opposition spanning across political affiliations, with 91% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 64% of Republicans expressing disapproval of broadcasting the event. About a third of Republicans indicated that the execution should be livestreamed.
Hasan, who described the attack as an act of jihad, is scheduled for execution in December at Fort Hood. President Donald Trump has approved an execution by firing squad, which would be the Army's first since 1961. However, sources familiar with the matter have indicated that Trump and his advisors are considering whether to proceed with livestreaming the execution, partly due to concerns that it could be used for anti-American propaganda or reflect poorly on the U.S.
Despite widespread opposition to broadcasting the execution, a slim majority of Americans, 53%, support Hasan's execution by firing squad, while 42% oppose it. This is in contrast to broader trends regarding the death penalty for murder, which has seen declining support over the past three decades.
The poll also highlighted partisan divisions regarding the execution itself. While 8 in 10 Republicans support Hasan's execution, support among independents is around 50%, and about one-third of Democrats. A majority of Democrats, 64%, oppose the execution by firing squad.
MAGA Republicans showed the highest support for Hasan's execution by firing squad at 87%, followed by 70% of non-MAGA Republicans. Support was also higher among men (60%) than women (46%), and among adults aged 50 and older (58%) compared to those under 50 (48%). Americans without a college degree supported the execution by a 55% to 37% margin, while those with a college education were evenly split.
Even among those who support Hasan's execution by firing squad, 69% do not believe it should be livestreamed.
The Pentagon has stated that the livestream is moving forward, with a Defense official confirming that details would follow. However, the military has not used a firing squad for an execution since 1945. Internal documents reviewed by ABC News indicate that officials had initially been preparing for lethal injection.
The poll was conducted from October 9-13, 2026, among 2,545 U.S. adults. The overall margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points, with larger margins for subgroups.