Frank Figliuzzi hosts The Frank Figliuzzi Show on Lincoln Square. He is an FBI Assistant Director (retired); 25-year veteran Special Agent; and author of the national bestseller, The FBI Way, and Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers. Subscribe to his Substack.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week his plans to livestream the firing squad execution of former Army Major Nidal Hasan on December 3.
In 2009, the ex-military psychiatrist fired 200 rounds, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others as he shouted, “Allahu Akbar!” at Fort Hood in Texas. He was shot in the chest by an Army police officer and is paralyzed. Hasan was sentenced to death after a court-martial established Hasan carefully planned the attack and researched jihad. Now, Hegseth’s macabre machismo prompts him to stream Hasan’s execution on the Internet thereby promoting Hasan’s martyrdom and likely inspiring other violent jihadists.
The killings took place at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops were getting medical checkups before deploying to Afghanistan.
Hasan, an American-born Muslim, was also scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan. His death sentence was handed down in a unanimous decision by a panel of 13 senior military officers. Hasan acted as his own attorney, called no witnesses and offered no testimony. In an opening statement, he said he had decided to “switch sides” in what he believed was a U.S. war against Islam.
The Pentagon’s plan unleashed intense bipartisan backlash and ethical debates. Hasan’s looming death by a military firing squad marks an unprecedented modern event. Hegseth justified his decision by stating that making the execution public ensures that “people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
Death by firing squad is certainly a powerful and permanent consequence. But live streaming it like a viral TikTok teenage dance routine, may have the opposite impact Hegseth seeks.