By Ari’ Browley
On Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, 13 people were killed and 32 were wounded at the Fort Hood military base after former U.S. Army major and physician Nidal Hasan carried out a mass shooting. Since the shooting, Hasan has been permanently paralyzed from the waist down and incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Soon, Hasan may be facing consequences never before seen by Americans.
On Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military will be hosting a livestreamed execution of Hasan by firing squad on Thurs., Dec. 3.
Hegseth further explained the plan to execute Hasan to reporters.
“… Army Major betrays his country. Radical Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of course we’re going to do it at Fort Hood, going to do it on a Thursday, we’re going to do it at 1 o’clock, which is when he did it. And it’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad,” Hegseth said.
“…We will make sure that people are able to watch it, that it is public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” he said.
The announcement left people questioning the reality of the situation, with many believing Hegseth’s claims are far-fetched.
While Hegseth is set on publicizing Hasan’s execution, President Trump is still on the fence.
“…There are two thoughts, don’t show it and show it. Because you know, by showing it maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So I’ll make a decision ultimately,” Trump said to reporters. “I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”
While the decision is still in the air, Grand Rapids Community College students weighed in on the situation.
“…I feel like some people would like it, like people who maybe were affected by it, or others who have a deep care for the military,” said Hayden Peoples, 18, a business major from Rockford.
While Peoples sees how other Americans may support Hasan’s public execution, he does not agree with publicizing his death.
“I don’t think it should be public. I don’t think it should be live,” Peoples said. “It’d just be desensitizing if we saw it, like the cartel videos.”
Courtney Zuidema, 32, a business major, is unsure if there are any benefits to showcasing Hasan’s death to the world.
“I’m not sure, to be honest. I’m not in favor of it, but I need to understand… if it has benefits,” Zuidema said. “…Right now I don’t agree because I don’t see the benefits of it, but if someone convinced me and gives me good reasons why we should do it.”
Psychology major Calvin Wessel, 19, is also conflicted about the situation, but he knows the execution should not be live-streamed.
“There is some conflicting thoughts,” Wessel said. “I mean, I don’t think it should be on live TV. Just because why do we need to show people that? What if there’s kids watching? I just think that it’s unneeded and we could be focusing on, instead of broadcasting an execution, maybe put some more effort into other things that matter more.”
Karyn Taylor, 17, a microbiology major, also finds the situation strange.
“Honestly, livestreaming it is a little weird to me,” Taylor said. “But if you were to come in person, I mean, this person is gonna die, anyways. And for people, like, who don’t know the value of life, I think it’s good that they sit in on it. That way they can realize that killing someone is a heavy topic…”
Meanwhile, Jordan Kaul, 20, a communications major, explained why the plan to publicly execute Hasan is plain wrong.
“That’s so medieval. That is so outdated. That’s ridiculous. It’s scary,” Kaul said. “I really think there’s a good chance that it could (happen). I wouldn’t put anything past this country right now… He (Trump) probably would be like ‘Yeah, it’s happening, and it’s supposed to happen. It’s the best thing to happen.’ So if he’s not saying that, then maybe not.”
Theater major Lyndsey Bandlow, 19, from Grand Rapids also heavily opposes the public execution.
“My personal belief is that it’s extremely archaic and almost immature…, ” Bandlow said. “I believe, I mean, for one, I’m against the death penalty…I truly believe that, though many people deserve punishment, they do not deserve to be executed in the legal way, and I feel as if livestreaming, something like that, to the public only invites more violent behavior and invites almost desensitization of, like, killing people is okay.”
Although it seems, many students doubt that the livestreamed execution will come to fruition.
“I don’t know if it’ll actually happen, given it depends on how many people speak out against it,” Bandlow said.
“I doubt it will happen,” Peoples said. “If it did happen, I wouldn’t watch it, but I would probably end up seeing it on my reels pretty soon.”
Zuidema may be open to watching the live execution due to its historical significance.
“I was a political science major before I switched to business, so yeah, I would probably watch it only because it’s history.”
Other people say they will not be watching it live, but may watch it after the fact.
“I will not watch it live,” Kaul said. “I might end up watching it after the fact with disclaimers for informant reasons… You can’t just act like it didn’t happen, and kids will see that.”
“I will not be watching it. No, no, no,” Bandlow said. “But I hope it doesn’t (happen), because if it happens once, it’s gonna happen again.”
Taylor believes showcasing a public execution would normalize violence even more in our country.
“Already violence is normalized in America, and I feel like normalizing that violence and exposing more people to it will just cause more violence,” Taylor said.
Kaul can also see it bringing up more issues of violence from both citizens and the government.
“I think that it’ll fuel more issues with violence coming from the government and probably coming from the people as well.”
Peoples added that the execution could spark more violence between people.
“Because they would definitely hear about it wherever he’s from, I think it would just spark more problems between people.”
While Hasan had radical Islamist motivation behind the 2009 shooting, the Arlington, Virginia native’s crime has no connection to a foreign country.
The situation continues to fuel disagreements between supporters and opposers of Hassan’s possible public execution while Americans wait to hear whether or not Hegseth’s plans for a livestream will be permitted.
Collegiate reporters Olivia Prindle, Lydia Sing, Rowan Elzinga, Izabella Blanchard, Litany Gaines, and Sophia Vry contributed to this story.
