House Speaker Johnson Urges Trump to Reconsider Livestreaming Hasan Execution

House Speaker Mike Johnson has publicly urged President Donald Trump to reconsider the plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Hasan. Johnson expressed concern that such a broadcast could potentially be used as a recruiting tool for future terrorists.

"The concern would be that you would create a video that then would be a recruiting tool for future terrorists," Johnson told CBS News on Monday. "We’ve got to think through the policy implications of all that. I wouldn’t be watching it if it was aired, but there’s a lot of opinions on that."

Johnson indicated that he plans to relay the reservations of his Republican colleagues to the White House, noting that "not everybody’s in favor of the idea."

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans last week to make Hasan's execution by firing squad available to the public. Hegseth told conservative influencer Jack Posobiec that "soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad" would carry out the execution, a method not used by the U.S. military since World War II.

President Trump has given mixed signals on the matter. He confirmed Friday that he "absolutely" authorized Hasan's execution but later stated he "will make a decision ultimately" on whether to broadcast it.

Nidal Hasan, a former U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 soldiers and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009. He was shot and paralyzed from the chest down during the incident. Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 and has maintained that his attack was in defense of Islam.

Critics have voiced concerns that a public execution could fulfill Hasan's alleged desire for jihadist martyrdom. Many Republican lawmakers have also come out against the livestreaming plan.

"I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that," Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) posted on X. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) wrote, "A civilization erodes when it cultivates an appetite for executions as a form of entertainment. Secretary Hegseth’s plan to livestream the Fort Hood execution risks feeding that appetite."

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) stated, "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America." Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) added, "An execution shouldn’t be a live-streamed spectacle. The focus should be on justice for the victims and their families, not turning an execution into entertainment."

The execution is currently scheduled for December 3.