Trump drops livestream of Nidal Hasan's execution, still set for Dec. 3, and blames Obama's FBI (update, Oct. 15, 2026)

Case

On Oct. 15, 2026, Trump said on Truth Social that the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan will proceed but will not be streamed, a week after Defense Secretary Hegseth said it would be public and the Pentagon said it would be livestreamed. Victims' immediate families may attend in person. In the same post, per excerpts reported by Townhall, Trump blamed the Obama-era FBI for a "key intelligence failure" over Hasan's emails with cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

What changed (Oct. 15, 2026)
On Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, Trump posted on Truth Social: "He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed." The execution remains set for 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, Texas.
Trump wrote that streaming "might have been a strong deterrent" and a way for the world to see how America treats "Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan," but that "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die."
Trump said the immediate families of the 13 people killed in the 2009 attack may view the execution in person if they choose. Neither CBS nor Fox says whether any other public attendance remains.
This reverses the plan Hegseth announced on Oct. 7-8, when he said people would be able to watch and that it would be public, and the Pentagon said it would be livestreamed. CBS and Fox report no Pentagon or Hegseth response to the reversal.
The reversal followed bipartisan backlash; CBS reported earlier in the week that officials were leaning against streaming, and NBC reported that Vice President Vance had suggested the stream would not happen.

The Obama-era FBI claim and context
In the same post, per excerpts reproduced by Townhall, Trump wrote that "Barack Hussein Obama's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted electronic communications between Hasan and the radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki," that FBI investigators concluded Hasan's emails "were not a threat," and that this was "later considered to be a key intelligence failure." Townhall did not reproduce the full post.
Fox News reports that Trump criticized the Obama administration's handling of the intercepted communications and called the failure to treat them as a threat a major intelligence failure.
Context from the 2012 Webster Commission review, as summarized by Long War Journal: Hasan began emailing Awlaki on Dec. 17, 2008, before Obama took office in Jan. 2009, and the FBI already had Awlaki under investigation; the shooting was on Nov. 5, 2009.
The commission found shortcomings in FBI policies and procedures that caused agents to miss signs of Hasan's radicalization; most emails did not appear to warrant further investigation, but at least two did, and at one point officials judged the emails consistent with Hasan's research on the psychological effects of the post-9/11 wars.
Limit of this entry: the full Truth Social post and the Webster report itself were not read directly; the FBI findings above are second-hand summaries.

Perspectives

Official position — President Trump (Truth Social, Oct. 15, 2026)
Trump says the execution will go ahead as scheduled by firing squad but will not be streamed, because many well-meaning people would rather not watch him die, though he says streaming might have been a strong deterrent. He says victims' immediate families may attend in person and that they \"deserve to witness JUSTICE!\" He attributes the Fort Hood intelligence failure to the Obama-era FBI.

Note
Trump's claim about the FBI under Obama is a political characterization; the Webster Commission found FBI shortcomings, but the Hasan-Awlaki emails began in Dec. 2008, before Obama took office. Whether any non-streamed public viewing remains is not reported.

Sources
[1] CBS News: Trump calls off plan to livestream Fort Hood shooter's execution (https://cbsnews.com/news/trump-fort-hood-shooter-nidal-hasan-execution-live-stream) · 2026-10-15
[2] Fox News: Trump says Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan's execution won't be livestreamed (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-rules-out-livestream-nidal-hasan-firing-squad-execution) · 2026-10-15
[3] Townhall: Trump scraps livestream for Nidal Hasan execution (https://townhall.com/news/cameron-arcand/2026/10/15/nidal-hasan-execution-will-no-longer-be-livestreamed-trump-announces-n2684734) · 2026-10-15
[4] Long War Journal: Report highlights emails from Fort Hood shooter to al Qaeda cleric (Webster Commission) (https://www.longwarjournal.org/?p=57332) · 2012-07
[5] NBC News: Vance suggests Nidal Hasan's execution won't be livestreamed, contradicting Hegseth (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/vance-nidal-hasan-execution-livestream-hegseth-rcna602551)

Connections

Related — Hegseth's planned livestreamed firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan (Dec. 3, 2026)
Update (Oct. 15, 2026): Trump reversed the livestream plan documented in the published entry; the execution date is unchanged.