Hegseth wants Americans to witness execution of convicted Fort Hood killer

A man sitting on military death row in Kansas could soon face a public firing squad.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch the execution of a former Army major who killed 13 people during a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

56-year-old Nidal Malik Hasan, who remains on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, where the deadly attack occurred.

During an interview Thursday, Hegseth said the execution would be carried out by soldiers armed with rifles and that the public would be allowed to witness it.

"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it's public," Hegseth said.

He argued that allowing people to witness the execution would demonstrate the serious consequences of such attacks.

The Pentagon then said the execution would be live-streamed.

Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, opened fire inside a soldier-processing center at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to death.

President Donald Trump approved Hasan's death sentence Oct. 2, following a recommendation from Hegseth.

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle subsequently scheduled the execution for 1 p.m. Dec. 3.

If carried out, it would mark the first execution by the U.S. military since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth.

It would also be the military's first execution by firing squad since 1945.