President Trump has approved a firing squad execution for the terrorist who murdered 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
Quick Take
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell says Trump approved death by firing squad for Nidal Hasan on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recommendation.
- Hasan was convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood terror attack 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 firing squad method echoes a trend already underway in states like Idaho.
Trump Approves Execution Of Fort Hood Killer
President Trump has signed off on executing Nidal Hasan by firing squad, the Pentagon confirmed this week. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision, saying Hegseth “has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan.” The announcement finally delivers consequences for one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out on a U.S. military base.
Hasan, a former Army major, opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. He killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others in an attack prosecutors and investigators have described as an act of terrorism. He was convicted and sentenced to death. For years, his case sat frozen while appeals dragged on and no execution ever moved forward.
A Punishment Decades In The Making
This decision breaks a long freeze on military executions. Reports note it would mark the first time the U.S. military has carried out an execution in more than 60 years. For a conservative base that has watched violent offenders sit on death row for decades without facing justice, this is the kind of decisive action they have demanded from Washington for years.
The case has long stood as a symbol of bureaucratic delay. A man who gunned down American soldiers on their own base avoided execution far longer than most Americans would consider acceptable. Trump and Hegseth’s approval signals that the administration intends to stop letting red tape shield killers of this kind from facing real punishment.
Why Firing Squad, And Why Now
The choice of firing squad fits a broader shift already happening across the country. Idaho made firing squad its primary execution method starting July 1, 2026, after years of problems carrying out lethal injection. Death penalty researchers note that firing squads account for a tiny share of modern executions, just 6 out of 1,664 carried out since 1976, but supporters argue the method is fast, reliable, and rarely botched.
States have turned to firing squads largely because lethal injection drugs have grown harder to get and legal challenges have piled up around that method. Five states now allow firing squads under certain conditions: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. The Pentagon’s decision on Hasan arrives in that same climate, where officials are rethinking which methods actually work without failure.
Several key details remain unclear from the Pentagon’s public statement, including the exact date of execution and the full legal process behind changing the method. The Pentagon’s confirmation is treated as reliable across multiple national outlets, even though the full written order has not been published publicly. That is a normal part of how military and national security decisions are often first disclosed to the public.
A Message On Accountability
For families of the Fort Hood victims, and for troops who serve on American bases, this decision closes a chapter many feared would never end. It also sends a clear signal from the Trump administration that terrorism against American soldiers on American soil will carry the ultimate consequence, not endless appeals and stalled sentences.
This case shows a government willing to follow through on justice rather than let a convicted terrorist’s death sentence sit unfulfilled for 17 years. Conservatives who have long argued that the justice system coddles violent offenders now have a concrete example of swift, serious action against one of the worst attacks on American soldiers in modern history.
Sources:
idahostatesman.com, nypost.com
