Trump Orders Firing Squad Execution for Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan, Marking Rare Military Death Penalty

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. military to carry out the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, by firing squad, according to a Pentagon spokesperson. The decision, announced Monday, follows a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and represents an unusual application of military capital punishment.

Hasan, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, has been on military death row since 2013, when a court-martial jury convicted him on 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. If the execution proceeds, he would become the first U.S. service member executed by the military in more than six decades.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed the approval in a statement posted to X, writing that "judgment day for Hasan has finally come." Parnell noted that the Army secretary will determine the timing and location of the execution. The order places Hasan's fate squarely in the hands of military officials who must now navigate a complex legal and logistical process.

The 2009 attack unfolded at Fort Hood, now known as Fort Cavazos, in Texas. Hasan opened fire with a handgun inside a medical processing facility on the sprawling Army installation, killing 12 unarmed active-duty soldiers and one retired serviceman, and wounding 31 others, according to the source account. He was shot by responding police at the scene and left partially paralyzed.

During his court-martial, Hasan largely declined to mount a defense. He stated that the shooting was intended to prevent soldiers from deploying to Afghanistan and killing fellow Muslims, framing his actions as a protective measure for his faith. The attack occurred weeks before Hasan himself was scheduled to deploy to the conflict zone.

Hasan's conviction and death sentence in August 2013 appeared to close a painful chapter for the military, but the case has remained in appellate limbo for years. The Trump administration's decision to authorize a specific method of execution signals a renewed push to carry out the sentence, which has faced prolonged legal challenges and administrative delays.

In April, the Trump administration expanded the range of approved execution methods to include firing squad, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution, part of a broader effort to prioritize capital punishment at the federal level. That policy shift paved the way for Monday's order in Hasan's case, which had previously lacked a designated method of execution under military protocol.

Military executions are extraordinarily rare in the United States. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, only the president can approve a military execution, a power that has been invoked sparingly throughout American history. The last service member executed by the U.S. military was hanged in 1961, and the last known firing squad execution in the military occurred in November 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The firing squad method itself remains deeply controversial. While Utah has carried out executions by firing squad in recent decades under state law, the practice is widely criticized by human rights organizations and death penalty opponents as archaic and potentially cruel. Legal experts note that carrying out a firing squad execution within the military system raises unique questions about protocol, personnel, and constitutional scrutiny.

For the victims' families and survivors of the Fort Hood attack, the news may bring a measure of closure after more than a decade of legal proceedings. Many have long advocated for the sentence to be carried out, expressing frustration at the repeated delays. Others, however, have questioned whether the death penalty brings true justice or merely prolongs the trauma through continued litigation.

Defense attorneys for Hasan have consistently raised concerns about his mental health and the fairness of his trial. Hasan represented himself during portions of the court-martial, a decision that some legal observers argued may have undermined his defense. His case has become a flashpoint in broader debates over military justice, terrorism classification, and the treatment of Muslim Americans in the post-9/11 era.

The timing of the announcement also intersects with a national conversation about capital punishment methods. Recent high-profile cases, including that of Christa Pike, who has sought firing squad rather than lethal injection, have thrust execution protocols into the spotlight. The Trump administration's expansion of execution methods reflects a deliberate policy preference for more traditional forms of capital punishment.

Internationally, the decision is likely to draw scrutiny from human rights groups and allied nations that have abolished the death penalty. The United States remains one of the few Western democracies that continues to apply capital punishment, and military executions carry additional symbolic weight given the nation's standing in global affairs.

The Army secretary now faces the task of setting a date and location for the execution, a process that could take months as legal appeals are exhausted and logistical preparations are made. Any execution would likely take place at a military facility, though specific protocols for a firing squad execution within the armed forces have not been publicly detailed.

As the case moves forward, it will test the boundaries of military law, presidential authority, and public opinion on capital punishment. For Hasan, the order represents the final chapter in a legal saga that has spanned more than a decade. For the nation, it raises enduring questions about justice, deterrence, and the methods a society chooses when imposing its ultimate penalty.