President Trump has approved death by firing squad for Nidal Hasan, the Army major who killed 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood terror attack.
Quick Take
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended firing squad, and President Trump approved it.
- Hasan was convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others.
- This would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years.
- The method echoes a national shift toward firing squads, which Idaho adopted as its primary execution method in July.
Pentagon Confirms Trump’s Approval
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, announced the decision this week in blunt terms. He said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended the firing squad method, and President Trump approved it for Hasan’s execution. The statement names both men directly, leaving no confusion about who made the call or how Hasan will die for his crimes.
Hasan, a former Army major, was convicted for the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. He killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others before he was stopped. A military jury sentenced him to death years ago, but his case sat frozen as appeals and legal delays dragged on. Now, under President Trump, the wait appears to be ending.
Multiple outlets, including the New York Post, CBS News, and the Washington Examiner, confirm the same Pentagon statement and the same approval language. That kind of agreement across separate newsrooms gives conservatives real confidence that this is exactly what it looks like: a long-overdue reckoning for a man who murdered American soldiers on American soil.
A Historic Method for a Notorious Case
If carried out as planned, this would mark the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. UPI reports that no service member has faced military execution in that span, making Hasan’s case a rare and weighty moment for the armed forces. For years, critics complained that the military justice system let dangerous men like Hasan sit comfortably behind bars while victims’ families waited for justice that never came.
Firing squad executions are uncommon in America, but they are not new. The method dates back to the Civil War and was used by the Army as recently as World War Two for soldiers convicted of serious crimes. Supporters argue firing squads are swift, reliable, and leave little room for the botched procedures that have plagued some lethal injection executions in recent years.
Idaho made national headlines earlier this year when it became the first state to name the firing squad its primary execution method, starting July 1. That shift came after years of trouble finding reliable lethal injection drugs, a problem that has stalled executions in several states. Whether Idaho’s move shaped the Pentagon’s thinking isn’t confirmed, but the timing lines up with a broader national reconsideration of execution methods.
Why This Case Resonates With Americans
For families who lost loved ones at Fort Hood, and for the soldiers who survived the attack, this decision closes a chapter that has dragged on for 17 years. Hasan’s crime was never treated as ordinary violence. Investigators and prosecutors tied his actions to extremist beliefs, and the attack remains one of the deadliest on a U.S. military base in the nation’s history.
President Trump’s team has moved decisively where past administrations stalled. Approving a concrete execution method for a convicted mass murderer sends a clear signal: justice delayed is not justice denied forever. For conservatives who have watched violent offenders exploit endless appeals, this decision reflects a simple, old-fashioned principle. Crimes this severe deserve a final, certain punishment, not decades of legal limbo.
The Pentagon has not released a formal written order detailing the exact timing or procedures for the execution. That detail will likely follow as the Army finalizes logistics. What’s already clear, and confirmed by multiple independent news organizations, is that the decision has been made at the top: Hegseth recommended it, and President Trump signed off.
Sources:
idahostatesman.com, idahonews.com, idoc.idaho.gov
