WASHINGTON — A slim majority of Americans want Nidal Hasan executed by firing squad, and most of the people who want it do not want to watch it online.
Eight in 10 Americans say the December execution should not be livestreamed, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, and the opposition crosses party lines: 91 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans. About a third of Republicans say it should be livestreamed.
That is a problem for the Pentagon, which says its Hasan execution livestream is going ahead. A defense official said Tuesday, “The Secretary is correct. It will be live streamed.” But Trump and his advisers are weighing whether to drop it, sources told ABC News, over concern that broadcasting it could fuel anti-American propaganda or reflect poorly on the United States.
ABC News found the resistance reaches Trump’s own base. A 55 percent majority of MAGA Republicans oppose a livestream, as do 65 percent of people who voted for Trump in 2024 and 51 percent of those who strongly approve of his presidency. Even 69 percent of the people who support the firing squad do not want it streamed.
Support for the execution itself is narrower and sharply partisan. ABC puts it at 53 percent for a firing squad, with 42 percent opposed, while Ipsos’s summary of the same poll says 52 percent support the execution. About 8 in 10 Republicans back it, half of independents and a third of Democrats, and 64 percent of Democrats oppose it. The poll surveyed 2,545 adults from Oct. 9 to 13 with a margin of error of 2 points overall and larger for subgroups, Ipsos said.
| Group | Oppose livestream | Support firing squad |
|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 91% | About 1 in 3 |
| Independents | 83% | About half |
| Republicans | 64% | About 8 in 10 |
| MAGA Republicans | 55% | 87% |
| Non-MAGA Republicans | 79% | About 7 in 10 |
| Back the firing squad | 69% | — |
| Source: ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll of 2,545 adults, as reported by ABC News. | ||
Republicans in office have split. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska urged the Pentagon to reverse what she called a “gruesome decision,” writing on X that a livestream would give Hasan “the martyrdom he seeks.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended it on “Face the Nation,” CBS News reported, saying “no one has to watch it if they don’t choose to.” Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. His execution, set for Dec. 3 at the base, would be the Army’s first since 1961, and the military has not used a firing squad since 1945, ABC reported. Trump told reporters last Saturday he would “make a decision, ultimately.” The Pentagon said Tuesday that the stream will happen and that “details will follow.”
