FCC defers to Pentagon on potential broadcast of military execution

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair, Brendan Carr, has stated that the agency will defer to the Pentagon regarding whether U.S. networks may broadcast a planned military execution. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, will be carried out by firing squad and livestreamed.

Hasan is expected to be the first person executed by firing squad by the U.S. military since 1945. While Carr suggested to CNBC that the event might not air on broadcast television, he noted that the final decision on how to proceed rests with Secretary Hegseth.

The United Nations has condemned the plan to livestream the execution, describing it as “revolting” and suggesting it could constitute a violation of the prohibition against torture, comparing the practice to public executions seen in countries like Iran or Afghanistan.