Trump Approves Firing-Squad Execution for Nidal Hasan

The Pentagon has announced that Nidal Hasan, a former US Army major convicted of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, is to be executed by firing squad. The article describes this as the first US military execution by firing squad since the end of World War Two. 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 US Army will determine when and where it takes place. Parnell wrote that “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” Hasan, an Army psychiatrist from Virginia, killed 13 unarmed soldiers and injured 32 others in a crowded medical building where troops preparing to deploy were waiting for check-ups and vaccines. The attack on 5 November 2009 was the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. 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. Hasan is one of four people on the US military’s death row. Military executions require presidential approval, appellate review and a final legal judgment. The article notes that the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces found the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, but it was reinstated by executive order the following year under President Ronald Reagan. The article distinguishes military executions from state-level executions, which account for most executions in the United States. Capital punishment remains legally available in 27 states, as well as under federal and military law. Firing squads are uncommon: South Carolina used the method last year for the first time in state history and the first time in the United States in 15 years; four other states also allow it. Trump supports the federal death penalty and reinstated it by executive order in January 2025, after the Biden administration had imposed a federal moratorium.

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 the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The shooting also wounded more than two dozen people. According to the Pentagon, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the firing-squad execution before Trump approved it. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision in a post on X, describing Hasan as a convicted terrorist and saying the Secretary of the Army would determine the time and place of the execution. The article says the execution, if carried out, would be the first by the US military since 1961, making the decision a notable development in the history of military executions. The report does not provide a scheduled date or location for the execution, nor does it include responses from Hasan, his representatives, victims’ families, or other officials. It focuses on the announcement and the historical significance of the proposed method and military execution. The information is attributed to the Pentagon and its spokesman.

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.