Trump Approves Firing-Squad Execution for Fort Hood Shooter

The Pentagon has announced plans to execute Nidal Malik Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist who killed 13 soldiers and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended the execution and President Donald Trump approved it. The Secretary of the Army will determine the time and place. Parnell described the decision as “Judgement day for Hasan.” The planned execution would be the first US military execution by firing squad in more than 60 years, and the first by that method since the end of World War Two. Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. A panel of 13 officers unanimously recommended a death sentence. During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan admitted he was the gunman, apologized for “any mistakes,” and said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The attack occurred in a crowded medical building where soldiers awaiting deployment were receiving check-ups and vaccines; it was the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. Hasan is one of four prisoners on the US military’s death row. A military execution requires presidential approval, appellate review and a final ruling on its legality. The article outlines the legal history of the military death penalty, including a 1983 ruling that deemed it unconstitutional and its reinstatement the following year by executive order under President Ronald Reagan. It also notes that capital punishment remains legally available in 27 states, as well as under federal and military law. Firing squads are uncommon, though South Carolina used the method last year for the first time in the state in 15 years. Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah also permit it. Trump has supported the federal death penalty and reinstated it by executive order in January 2025, after Joe Biden’s administration had imposed a moratorium on federal executions.

The Pentagon said President Donald Trump approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recommendation that Nidal Hasan be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad. Hasan, 56, was convicted and sentenced to death by court-martial for the November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. The attack killed 13 people and wounded 32 others; Hasan was then an Army major and a psychiatrist. During his trial, he said he had acted to defend the Taliban’s leadership. If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first following a U.S. armed forces court-martial since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Federal law requires presidential approval before a death sentence imposed by court-martial can be carried out. The Army secretary will determine the time and place of the execution, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who announced Trump’s approval in a post on X. Hegseth reposted the announcement with the word “Justice.” The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Hegseth said in September 2025 that he had asked Trump to approve the execution and later stated he was committed to ensuring the death penalty was carried out. The Supreme Court denied Hasan’s petition to hear an appeal of his conviction on March 31, 2025, clearing the way for execution. The Death Penalty Information Center says Hasan is one of four people currently on death row following a U.S. military court-martial.

President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The Pentagon said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the method and Trump approved it. The Army has not yet announced when or where the execution will take place. If carried out, it will be the first execution by the US military since 1961. Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 for the Al-Qaeda-inspired shooting. He represented himself at trial, called no witnesses, offered no testimony and did not contest the charges. His court-appointed defence attorneys said they were concerned that he wanted to be executed. On November 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire at a medical facility on the sprawling Fort Hood base, a staging point for troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Twelve of those killed and 30 of those wounded were soldiers; the attack also left more than two dozen people injured overall. A civilian police officer responding to the shooting wounded Hasan, leaving him partially paralysed. Evidence presented at trial included Hasan’s opposition to US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and online communications with alleged Al-Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. The article notes that mass shootings are common in the United States but rare at military facilities. It places the Fort Hood attack alongside several other shootings at US military sites, including incidents in Georgia, Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Washington, DC.

The article reports that US President Donald Trump has approved a firing-squad execution for Nidal Hasan, the former US Army psychiatrist convicted of carrying out the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, a military base in Texas. The attack killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen. The Pentagon said the decision followed a recommendation by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the recommendation and approval in a post on X. Parnell described Hasan as a convicted terrorist and said the Secretary of the Army would determine when and where the execution takes place. If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first execution by the US military since 1961, according to the article. The report therefore presents the decision both as a development in Hasan’s case and as a rare event in the history of military executions. It does not provide a scheduled date or location for the execution, nor does it describe any further legal proceedings or responses to the decision. The article is a brief, fact-focused report based primarily on statements from Pentagon officials.

The article reports that President Donald Trump approved the execution of former US Army Major Nidal Hasan by firing squad, following a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hasan was convicted for the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which 13 people were killed and 32 wounded. The victims included 12 active-duty soldiers and a retired serviceman. Hasan later described the attack as retaliation for US wars in the Muslim world. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the decision and said the Secretary of the Army would determine the execution’s time and place. The article places the decision in the context of the Trump administration’s expansion of federal execution methods to include firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation, partly because lethal-injection drugs can be difficult to obtain and procedures can be challenging. It cites a recent failed lethal-injection attempt in Tennessee involving death-row inmate Christa Pike, who survived the attempt and was hospitalized on life support. Her lawyers had urged officials to consider other execution methods. Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after being found guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. He was shot by police during his arrest, leaving him partially paralyzed and using a wheelchair. Military death sentences require presidential approval, and executions by the military are rare. The article says Hasan’s execution would be the first military execution since 1961. It also notes that the last known US military firing-squad execution was carried out by musketry in 1945, while South Carolina conducted the first US firing-squad execution in 15 years in 2025. The anti-death-penalty group Death Penalty Action criticized Trump’s decision.