Trump Approves Firing Squad Execution for Nidal Hasan

US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, a former military psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at a Texas army base in 2009. The decision, announced by the Pentagon on Monday, sets the stage for the first military execution carried out by the United States in over six decades.

Presidential Approval and Military Protocol

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution method, which President Trump subsequently approved, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. The Secretary of the Army will determine the specific time and location for the sentence to be carried out. Writing on social media, Parnell stated that “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”

A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in 2013 for the mass shooting at Fort Hood. His pending execution will be the first conducted by the US armed forces since 1961.

The 2009 Fort Hood Attack

On November 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire at a medical facility located inside Fort Hood, a major military post that served as a deployment center for troops heading to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack resulted in 13 deaths and left 30 people wounded. While source reporting body texts state that 12 of the deceased were soldiers, one news caption indicated all 13 victims killed were soldiers. Hasan was shot during the attack by a responding civilian police officer, leaving him partially paralyzed.

During his 2013 trial, Hasan represented himself, chose not to call any witnesses or provide testimony, and did not contest the charges against him. Court-appointed standby attorneys voiced concern during the legal proceedings that Hasan was actively seeking a death sentence.

Motives and Base Security Context

Evidence presented at Hasan’s trial indicated that the US-born Muslim of Palestinian descent was opposed to American military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The court was also informed that Hasan had communicated online with Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born radical cleric and al-Qaeda figure who was later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

Mass shootings remain rare at US military facilities despite their frequency in civilian settings. In 2025, five service members were wounded when a soldier opened fire at a base in Georgia before being apprehended. In 2019, separate base shootings in Hawaii and Florida left two and three people dead, respectively. Earlier attacks include a 2015 shooting in Tennessee that killed four Marines and a sailor, and a 2013 attack at the Washington Navy Yard that left 12 people dead.

Background

The US military operates under a distinct legal system known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice, separate from federal and state civilian courts. Capital punishment remains an available sentence under military law, but any execution requires final authorization from the President of the United States. Executions by the US armed forces have been extremely rare in modern history, with the last one conducted in 1961.

Hasan’s case has moved through military judicial procedures for more than a decade following his 2013 conviction and death sentence. Under military procedure, once presidential approval is formally granted, the Secretary of the Army holds the responsibility to set the specific operational details, date, and facility where the sentence will be carried out.