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Eight in 10 Americans say the execution of former Army officer Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding another 32 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, should not be livestreamed , according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel . Hasan described the attack as an act of jihad and is scheduled to be executed in December at the same base where he committed the attack. President Donald Trump approved an execution by firing squad , which would be the Army’s first execution since 1961.
Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to make the execution public and confirmed it would be livestreamed. But Trump and his advisers are mulling whether to no longer livestream Hasan's execution , sources familiar with the matter told ABC News, amid a hesitancy over whether broadcasting the execution could super charge anti-American propaganda or reflect poorly on the U.S. Vice President JD Vance said last week that he wasn't sure whether there would be a livestream , adding that he wouldn’t watch it if there were.
The Pentagon maintains the livestream is moving forward, with a Defense official saying Tuesday in a statement: "The Secretary is correct. It will be live streamed. Details will follow." The military has not used a firing squad for an execution since 1945.
Officials had been preparing to use lethal injection if Trump authorized an execution, according to internal documents reviewed by ABC News. Majorities across partisan groups oppose livestreaming Hasan’s execution including 91% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 64% of Republicans. About a third of Republicans say Hasan’s execution should be livestreamed on the internet.
Clear majorities of almost all demographic groups say Hasan’s execution should not be livestreamed. Even 69% of those who support Hasan’s execution by firing squad do not think it should be livestreamed. This undated photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff's Department shows former Army psychiatrist Maj.
Nidal Hasan. Bell County Sheriff's Department A 55% majority of MAGA Republicans – who make up about 6 in 10 Republicans – say Hasan’s execution should not be livestreamed. That grows to 79% among non-MAGA Republicans.
And 65% of those who voted for Trump in 2024 said Hasan’s execution should not be livestreamed, along with 51% of those who strongly approve of how Trump is handling his presidency. Popular Reads Although there’s wide opposition to streaming Hasan’s execution, Americans do not feel the same way about his actual execution: A slim 53% majority of Americans supports Hasan’s execution by firing squad while 42% oppose it. Support for the death penalty for people convicted of murder overall is on a downward trend over the past three decades.
It peaked at about 8 in 10 in 1988 and 1994, but fell to 6 in 10 by 2013, according to Gallup polling . By last October, 52% of Americans favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder. In 1985, Gallup found 62% of Americans saying that the death penalty was a deterrent to murder and 31% saying it was not.
By 2004, that had flipped: 35% said the death penalty was a deterrent and 62% said it was not. There are wide partisan divisions on Hasan’s execution with 8 in 10 Republicans in support, along with half of independents and about one-third of Democrats. A 64% majority of Democrats oppose Hasan’s execution by firing squad.
MAGA Republicans are the most likely to support Hasan’s execution by firing squad (87%). Seven in 10 non-MAGA Republicans support Hasan’s execution by firing squad. More men (60%) than women (46%) support Hasan’s execution by firing squad, and more adults 50 and older (58%) support it than those under 50 (48%).
Americans with a college education are split roughly evenly on whether Hasan should be executed by firing squad, but those without a college degree support it by a 55% to 37% margin. See PDF for full results and detailed methodology. Methodology: This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted Oct. 9-13, 2026, among 2,545 U.S. adults and has an error margin of +/- 2 percentage points overall, but larger among subgroups.
ABC News’ Liz Schreier and Steve Beynon contributed to this report. Email ABCNEWS.Polls@abc.com to be added to ABC News’ polling distribution list. More ABC News polls can be found at abcnews.com .
Media contacts: Jeannie Kedas and Van Scott .
