Questions parents are asking
Is the U.S. government really going to livestream an execution?
On Oct. 8, 2026, the Pentagon said the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be livestreamed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public." On Oct. 10, President Trump said he had not made a final decision on the livestream. No lawful U.S. execution has ever been livestreamed to the public.
When is the livestream scheduled?
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Central time, at Fort Hood, Texas. That is 2:00 p.m. Eastern and 11:00 a.m. Pacific. It falls in the middle of the school day across the country.
What does watching violent events like this do to children?
After the 1986 Challenger explosion, which millions of children watched live in school, more than 60% of the children psychiatrist Lenore Terr studied feared at least one Challenger-related trigger five to seven weeks later, and their negative views of institutions and the future held steady or worsened over 14 months (American Journal of Psychiatry, 1997 and 1999). After 9/11, more hours of TV coverage were linked to more post-traumatic stress symptoms, including in children under 10. After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, children who watched more than three hours of coverage on the day of the attack had more PTSD symptoms (Comer et al., Pediatrics, 2014), and adults with six or more hours a day of coverage were 9 times as likely to report acute stress as those with under an hour (Holman, Garfin and Silver, PNAS). Two years after the Oklahoma City bombing, sixth graders 100 miles away still showed post-traumatic stress tied to coverage (Pfefferbaum et al., 2003).
Didn't kids already see a killing online?
Yes. After Charlie Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, uncut video spread almost instantly. Children and teens found it in their main social media feeds, it autoplayed on X, it moved through group chats, and some students watched it in class, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press.
What can parents do right now?
Ask your principal and superintendent to commit in writing that the livestream will not be shown in any classroom or assembly and will be blocked on school devices and Wi-Fi. Ask your state's chief school officer for statewide guidance. Tell TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Snapchat and X to keep it out of minors' feeds and turn off autoplay. Tell the White House and your senators to cancel the livestream.
What is the December 3 Pledge?
A five-point commitment schools can make to families: no livestream in any classroom, assembly or school event; block it on school devices and school Wi-Fi on Dec. 3; have counselors ready for any student who sees it anyway; share the plan in writing with every family before Dec. 3; and respect every family's right to decide what their children see.
What has the administration said about parents' rights?
Executive Order 14190, signed Jan. 29, 2025, commits the administration to "protecting parental rights" and warns against anything that "usurps basic parental authority." In August 2026, the U.S. Department of Education reminded schools of their legal responsibility to protect parental rights.
Who is behind this campaign?
The National Parents Union, a national parent advocacy organization founded on Jan. 18, 2020. Its co-founder and president is Keri Rodrigues.