Joe Kent, the former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, said Thursday that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan deserves to die, but that broadcasting his execution is “beneath the dignity & decency of our nation.” Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA paramilitary officer, warned that streaming the firing squad would hand terrorists “free propaganda” to radicalize and recruit more attackers. The post came hours after the Pentagon confirmed the Dec. 3 execution will be livestreamed.
What Kent Wrote
Kent made the statement Thursday evening in a post on X, directly addressing the Pentagon’s plan to broadcast the first U.S. military execution in more than 65 years. His post, in full, read:
“There is no doubt Hassan deserves to die. His crimes were demonic and unforgivable—death by firing squad is borderline too merciful. But broadcasting his execution is beneath the dignity & decency of our nation.
Americans will use violence if and when justified, but we do not rejoice in it. Kill him swiftly & silently.
Streaming his execution is not just a stain on our morality—it also gives the terrorists free propaganda that they will use to radicalize & recruit more terrorists like Hassan.”
The post was time-stamped 7:59 PM on Oct. 8, 2026.
Kent’s statement makes three separate arguments. He endorses the punishment in the strongest terms, saying death by firing squad is “borderline too merciful” for a man whose crimes he called “demonic and unforgivable.” He objects to the spectacle on moral grounds, saying Americans “do not rejoice” in violence. And he frames the livestream as a security risk, saying it could be used to radicalize and recruit.
The Pentagon’s Announcement
The Pentagon said Thursday that the execution would be livestreamed, according to AP. It called the plan a stunning revelation after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had described the proceeding as “public.” Officials said more details would follow, and it was not immediately clear on which platform the broadcast would appear.
The process began Monday, when Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced on X that Hegseth had recommended, and President Donald Trump had approved, execution of Hasan by an Army firing squad. Parnell wrote that the Secretary of the Army would set the time and place, adding: “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” The Army later announced the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.
Hegseth, speaking Wednesday to the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice, said, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public.” Asked whether Hasan had made any final requests or reached out to the Trump administration, he replied: “Don’t care. We’ll see him on Dec. 3.” The White House referred questions about the livestream to the Pentagon on Thursday.
Hegseth’s Earlier Position
Hegseth has pushed for Hasan’s execution for more than a year. In a statement the Pentagon provided in September 2025, he said: “I am 100 percent committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan. This savage terrorist deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays.” Under Army regulations, the Army must forward an execution recommendation to the Defense Department before the defense secretary can recommend it to the president, who must sign off before any execution proceeds.
The Case Against Hasan
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who held the rank of major, walked into a medical building at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, where soldiers were waiting in long lines for immunizations and medical clearance for deployment. He shouted “Allahu akbar” and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. He was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others. He was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by law enforcement and now uses a wheelchair.
A military jury convicted Hasan at his 2013 trial and sentenced him to death. During the court-martial, which he conducted as his own attorney, he told the panel he had “switched sides.” He called no witnesses and made no closing argument. He exhausted his appeals in 2025 when the Supreme Court declined to hear his case.
If carried out, the execution would be the first by the U.S. military since April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged. Hegseth has said the military has not executed a service member by firing squad since World War II.
The Debate Over a Public Execution
Legal experts offered mixed reactions to the livestream. Deborah Denno, a death penalty expert at Fordham University, said broadcasting an execution could make the process “much more transparent.” Elisabeth Semel of UC Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic raised questions about the dignity of the defendant and the government’s motives, saying of the administration, “This is a president who’s about spectacle and that’s, I think, precisely the message that he intends to deliver.”
The plan also sits awkwardly with Trump’s earlier criticism of Iran. He has criticized public executions there, at times citing the possibility of protesters being killed by the Iranian government as a rationale for military action before he attacked Iran on Feb. 28. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 14. “It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions.”
Who Joe Kent Is
Kent was the eighth director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the agency responsible for analyzing and detecting terrorist threats. Trump nominated him in February 2025, and the Senate confirmed him in July 2025 by a vote of 52-44. Before joining the administration, Kent served 11 deployments as a Green Beret, worked at the CIA, and ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state.
His wife, Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon Kent, was killed Jan. 16, 2019, in a suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria, that the Islamic State claimed. The Defense Department identified her among four Americans killed in the attack.
A Break With the Administration
Kent resigned from the counterterrorism post on March 17, 2026, saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the Trump administration’s war in Iran. He said Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and that the war started “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Trump responded that day that he “always thought” Kent was “very weak on security” and that it was “a good thing that he’s out.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work, said it was up to Trump to decide whether Iran posed a threat.
Kent’s warning about propaganda draws on the mission he once led. The National Counterterrorism Center analyzes terrorist threats for the U.S. government, and his post argues that a government-streamed execution would become material for the groups the center tracks. The Pentagon has not responded to his remarks. It has said details of the livestream will follow, and it remains unclear whether Hasan will appeal. Hasan’s former civilian attorney, John Galligan, said Hasan has not yet had access to legal counsel under the plan, a claim the Army disputes.