Survivors of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre praised President Donald Trump’s decision not to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, after warning that broadcasting his death could turn the execution into a spectacle and hand terrorist groups a propaganda tool.
Hasan is still set to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3, 2026, and Trump said the immediate families of his victims will be permitted to witness the execution in person. But it will no longer be broadcast to the general public as previously announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times by Hasan during the attack nearly 17 years ago, told Fox News Digital that Trump’s decision is a “positive move.”
“It proves that we are a better people, a better nation, and that we’re not barbaric,” Lunsford said in immediate reaction to the walk-back by Trump on Thursday. “We don’t glorify such actions.”
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Lunsford said he supports Hasan’s death sentence and execution by firing squad but drew a line at broadcasting it to the public.
“For it to be made a spectacle for everyone to witness how they’re gonna do a tailgate or, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a cookout and we’re gonna watch this man be put to death.’ No, it’s not about that,” Lunsford said. “It’s not a spectacle. It’s not a pay-per-view event or a WWE wrestling match or even a boxing match.”
He also warned that footage of Hasan’s execution could be seized upon by terrorist organizations.
“You don’t want that to be used as a tool for ISIS or al-Qaeda to recruit and say, ‘Hey, this is what happens to you if you do this against the infidel,'” Lunsford said.
Julia Wilson was a civilian employee at Fort Hood when Hasan went on his rampage. She was nine months pregnant during the attack, which was carried out on her due date.
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She was slammed against a wall amid the chaos of the shooting and has said that it was only by the grace of God that she and her then-unborn son survived.
Wilson was already against the livestreaming of Hasan’s execution because she didn’t want others to be traumatized like she was during the deadly attack.
“I’m ecstatic about that,” she told Fox News Digital, reacting to the news that the plan to livestream the event would not proceed.
“I’m worried about other people’s mental health,” she continued. “I don’t think the government… really put a lot of thought into how this was going to go down and how it was going to transpire until today.”
“I don’t think they really thought about how this may affect people,” said Wilson. “Seeing something like that affects your mental health. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you’ve seen. Seeing someone murdered in front of you or killed in front of you affects your mental health, whether they deserve it or not.”
Wilson also worried that if the livestream had proceeded, it would exist online forever, and that children might discover it while searching the web. “Once it’s on out there, it’s out there,” she said.
Trump said Wednesday that he believed publicly broadcasting Hasan’s death could have served as a deterrent, but ultimately sided with those who opposed making the execution available for anyone to watch.
“I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed,” Trump continued. “That said, the execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose. They deserve to witness JUSTICE!”
Lunsford pointed to warnings surrounding Hasan before the shooting and criticized the Army’s handling of the future attacker before he was transferred from Walter Reed to Fort Hood.
“We knew this guy had issues,” Lunsford said. “If you are privy to the ticking time bomb report, you will see what he was talking about. This guy had issues and they just passed the buck and moved him from Walter Reed to Fort Hood.”
Lunsford wondered what might have happened had Hasan deployed overseas before carrying out an attack.
“Suppose he would have did the deed once he got in country on a FOB, a forward operating base,” he said. “Imagine how many American lives would have been lost then.”
For Lunsford, allowing victims to witness Hasan’s execution remains important even without a public broadcast.
“It’s gonna be a traumatic thing for, at least for the families of the fallen,” he said. “They’ll be able to close the chapter and hopefully close the book.”
Lunsford said survivors will continue to live with reminders of the attack long after Hasan is gone.
“Every day we get up, we come to the VA hospital or we have to take our meds in the morning or we get ready to do something that we normally would have been doing prior to 5 November ’09 that we’re no longer able to do now, that’s a constant reminder,” he said.
“I am no longer a victim of his,” Lunsford added. “I’m a survivor.”