Pentagon Confirms Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan to Face Firing Squad Execution

The Trump administration has authorized the execution of former Army Major Nidal Hasan via firing squad, Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell announced Monday evening. Hasan was convicted for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood that claimed the lives of 13 individuals and wounded more than 30 others.

According to Parnell, the decision followed a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and received final approval from President Donald Trump. “The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell stated on social media.

A former Army psychiatrist, Hasan admitted during his 2013 court-martial that he carried out the attack. He justified his actions by claiming he was attempting to protect Islamic insurgents from U.S. military forces, for which he was subsequently sentenced to death.

If carried out, this execution would represent the first time the military has put an American service member to death since 1961. That previous case involved a soldier who was hanged for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl. Additionally, the firing squad method would be exceedingly rare at the federal level; while South Carolina conducted three firing squad executions last year, the federal government typically relies on lethal injection for civilian capital cases.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department indicated that federal officials should evaluate alternative execution methods, including electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squads, as part of a broader review of capital punishment protocols.

The path to this authorization followed a protracted legal battle. Hasan opted to represent himself during trial, leading to public clashes with his court-appointed standby attorneys, who expressed concern that he was deliberately courting the death penalty. In 2024, Hasan petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction, arguing that the trial judge violated his right to a public trial by clearing the courtroom before certain discussions with legal counsel. The high court declined to hear the appeal the following year.