JD Vance casts doubt on public livestreamed military firing squad execution

Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Friday that he doubts the planned execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will go ahead. BBC News reported that Vance stated he saw the announcements but questioned if it was actually going to happen. Vance added that Hasan was supposed to treat soldiers for mental illness but instead targeted them when they were vulnerable. [1]

The statement comes after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that the military execution would be livestreamed for the public, BBC News reported. Hegseth stated that people need to understand there are serious consequences for such actions. BBC News reported that it asked the White House whether President Donald Trump supported the livestream plans. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, President Donald Trump approved the execution by an army firing squad following a recommendation from Hegseth. The execution is scheduled for 3 December at Fort Hood in Texas. Hasan killed 13 people and injured 32 others during a mass shooting at the military base in 2009. [4][5]

The planned execution would be the first US military execution since 1961, as FTMQ News reported earlier. BBC News noted that it will also be the first military execution by firing squad since the end of World War Two. [1][4]

Vance serves as the 50th vice president of the United States and previously represented Ohio in the US Senate from 2023 to 2025. Before entering national politics, he authored a bestselling memoir that examined economic and cultural decline in the American heartland. [2][3]