Nidal Hasan's Military Execution Approved by Trump

Us Weekly reports that President Donald Trump has approved a military firing squad for Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. The decision follows a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and was announced Monday, Oct. 5, by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a post on X.

"The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution," Parnell wrote. "Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."

In 2009, Hasan walked into a medical building at Fort Hood in Texas with a laser-sighted firearm and shouted "Allahu akbar" before opening fire, according to the Associated Press. Parnell put the toll at 13 dead and 32 injured.

Hasan, who is Muslim, represented himself at trial. He argued that he opened fire to stop troops from deploying to Afghanistan, where they would kill other Muslims, according to the AP, and told a jury he "switched sides."

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Hasan is among four people on military death row, along with Ronald Gray, Hasan Akbar and Timothy Hennis. The center reports that no military execution has happened in more than 65 years. The last was Pvt. John A. Bennett, hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on April 13, 1961, after convictions for rape and attempted murder involving an 11-year-old girl.

CNN reports that the last Army soldier executed by firing squad was Pvt. Eddie Slovik, put to death Jan. 31, 1945, near the end of World War II after being convicted of desertion.

An Army Lawyer article explains that a presidential approval is the first step in the military death penalty process. It also gives Hasan the chance to challenge his imprisonment through a habeas corpus petition. The same article says the execution date must be scheduled within 60 to 150 days of the president's approval.

The White House referred Us Weekly to the Department of War, which had no comment beyond Parnell's post. In the post, Parnell described Hasan as a terrorist and a jihadist. It is unclear whether Hasan currently has legal counsel, Us Weekly reports.

• Donald Trump
• Fort Hood
• military execution
• Nidal Hasan
• Pete Hegseth
• Sean Parnell