President Donald Trump has approved a Nidal Hasan firing squad execution, clearing the way for the U.S. Army to carry out the death sentence against the former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre. The decision was announced Monday night, October 5, 2026, and if carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the move on X, saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended death by Army firing squad for Hasan and that Trump had approved the recommendation. Parnell wrote that the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Hegseth replied to Parnell’s post with a single word: “Justice,” according to CNN.
Nidal Hasan Firing Squad Execution Recommended by Pentagon
Parnell’s announcement framed the decision as long overdue. He wrote that Hasan was “the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009,” adding: “He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Fox News reported.
Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has announced a date or a location for the execution. Fox 7 Austin reported that Hasan exhausted his appeals in 2025, clearing the way for the president to review and confirm the death sentence — a required step under military law, since no member of the U.S. armed forces can be executed without the president personally confirming the sentence.
The 2009 Fort Hood Shooting and the 2013 Conviction
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist serving as a major, walked into Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center on November 5, 2009 — a facility where soldiers underwent medical processing before deployment — and opened fire on the unarmed personnel inside. Thirteen people were killed and 32 wounded in what the U.S. Senate later described as the worst terrorist attack on American soil since September 11, 2001.
A military jury convicted Hasan in 2013 on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, and unanimously sentenced him to death. He has been held on military death row at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, ever since. Hasan was shot and wounded by responding officers during the attack, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Nidal Hasan Firing Squad Execution Would Be First Military Execution Since 1961
If the sentence is carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution since April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. Lethal injection is the designated method for modern military executions, but the president and the Pentagon have selected a firing squad in Hasan’s case.
Firing-squad executions are extremely rare in the United States. South Carolina carried out three such executions in 2025 — Brad Sigmon in March, Mikal Mahdi in April and Stephen Bryant in November — the first U.S. firing-squad executions since 2010, Fox 7 Austin reported.
Why the Decision Matters
Under military law, a capital sentence imposed by a court-martial cannot be carried out until the president personally reviews and confirms it. Military juries must also be unanimous in both their verdict and their sentencing recommendation — a standard Hasan’s 2013 trial met, with all 13 officers on the panel agreeing on the death penalty.
The case has remained a landmark in U.S. military justice for nearly 17 years. The 2009 rampage was the deadliest mass shooting ever carried out on an American military base, and it prompted multiple investigations by the FBI, the Defense Department and a U.S. Senate committee. The Senate’s report on the attack called it the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. Because military rules require presidential action before any execution can proceed, Hasan’s case stayed in the appeals process for more than a decade until those appeals were exhausted in 2025.
FAQ
Why was Nidal Hasan sentenced to death by firing squad?
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after being convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. On October 5, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended that the sentence be carried out by Army firing squad, and President Trump approved that recommendation.
When will the Nidal Hasan firing squad execution take place?
No date or location has been announced. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution.
Has the U.S. military executed anyone recently?
No. If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961, when Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
How rare are firing-squad executions in the United States?
They are extremely rare. South Carolina carried out three firing-squad executions in 2025 — Brad Sigmon, Mikal Mahdi and Stephen Bryant — the first in the United States since 2010.
Sources: CNN, Fox News, Fox 7 Austin
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