President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have approved death by firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan.
Hasan is the former Army major convicted of murdering 13 people and attempting to murder 32 others during the 2009 Fort Hood terrorist attack.
The decision could produce something the U.S. military hasn't seen in 65 years: an execution.
The Army has been laying the groundwork for months to resume military executions, which have effectively been on pause since Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged on April 13, 1961, after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.
Earlier this year, the Army developed an internal plan known as "Operation Resolute Justice" covering the potential executions of the four prisoners on military death row: Hasan, Ronald Gray, Hasan Akbar and Timothy Hennis.
The preparations included procedures for moving condemned prisoners from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, coordinating with federal prison officials and arranging for witnesses.
But there was one thing the Army couldn't prepare its way around: the president.
Article 71 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice requires presidential approval before a military death sentence can be carried out. An Army spokeswoman said in June that no such order had been received, even as the military conducted exercises and prepared for the possibility.
Now, for Hasan, that approval has arrived.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced Sunday evening that Hegseth recommended Hasan's execution and Trump approved it.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009. He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 5, 2026
"Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009," Parnell said.
"He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."
Hegseth had a much shorter reaction: "JUSTICE."
And it has been a very long time coming. Hasan carried out the massacre on Nov. 5, 2009, at what was then Fort Hood, Texas, now Fort Cavazos. He opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more.
A military jury convicted Hasan in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He was sentenced to death and has since been imprisoned at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.
Hegseth had already made clear last year that he wanted Hasan's death sentence carried out. In September 2025, he said he was "100 percent committed" to seeing the sentence enforced, while the Pentagon sought the presidential approval required under military law.
That final authorization has now been given, according to the Pentagon announcement. Parnell said specifically that Trump approved "death by U.S. Army firing squad," with the Secretary of the Army now responsible for setting the time and place.
The Hasan case has carried particular significance because of what happened before and after the massacre. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he began firing. During his court-martial, Hasan acted as his own attorney and told the panel in his opening statement that "the evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter."
Earlier Sunday, before news of Trump's approval broke, Reed D. Rubinstein, who represented Fort Hood victims and their families in litigation against the Army and FBI, argued in the New York Post that the Hasan case represented unfinished business for Washington.
"Fort Hood was not an unexpected 'tragedy,'" Rubinstein wrote. "It was a preventable act of jihad."
There could still be litigation before an execution is carried out. Military death-penalty cases have historically generated lengthy appellate and collateral proceedings.
That choice comes with an especially striking contrast after what happened just days ago in Tennessee.
Death-row inmate Christa Pike had specifically requested execution by firing squad rather than lethal injection. Tennessee rejected that request and proceeded with lethal injection. The execution then became a prolonged medical crisis when the first injection failed to kill Pike, requiring further intervention before she was removed from the execution chamber and transported for medical treatment.
Pike herself said shortly before the scheduled execution: "I am not afraid to die. I’m only nervous about the process."
We are unlikely to hear any complaints from Hasan after his execution. He will actually be executed.