Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan to Face Execution by Firing Squad, Pentagon Says

The Trump administration has formally approved a plan to execute former Army Major Nidal Hasan by firing squad for the deadly 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the decision late Monday, stating that the execution protocol was directly recommended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and subsequently sanctioned by President Donald Trump.

Parnell announced on social media that the military will proceed with the lethal measure, noting, "The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come." Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted during a 2013 court-martial on multiple charges of premeditated murder for fatally shooting 13 people and wounding more than 30 others. During his trial proceedings, Hasan admitted to the mass shooting, claiming he attacked fellow service members to protect Islamic insurgents abroad.

The execution would represent the first time the United States military has executed an American service member since 1961, when Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged following a conviction for rape and attempted murder. It also signifies an exceptionally rare deployment of a firing squad under federal authority. While lethal injection remains the standard method across federal death penalty cases, recent Department of Justice guidance has authorized officials to review alternative execution methods, including firing squads, electrocution, and lethal gas.

The directive follows years of legal maneuvers and appeals by Hasan, who represented himself at trial and frequently clashed with his court-appointed standby counsel over strategy. Hasan petitioned the Supreme Court in 2024 to review his conviction, alleging his constitutional right to a public trial had been violated when the courtroom was cleared during discussions regarding his legal representation. The Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, exhausting his primary legal avenues and paving the way for the Army to schedule his execution.