More than 17 years after the Fort Hood massacre, the terrorist who murdered 13 people at the Texas Army post is scheduled to face a firing squad at the same installation.
The Army has set December 3, 2026, at 1 p.m. Central for the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, following President Donald Trump’s approval of his death sentence. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced the time and location in an order issued Tuesday, according to Army Times and ABC News.
Trump approved the execution order on October 2. The Pentagon publicly announced the decision Monday, saying Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had recommended that Hasan be put to death by an Army firing squad.
If carried out, the execution would be the first by the U.S. military since 1961.
“Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in announcing the president’s approval.
A Massacre At The Post He Served
Hasan was an Army major and psychiatrist when he opened fire at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center on November 5, 2009. The attack killed 12 soldiers and one civilian and wounded 32 others.
Witnesses reported that Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire. Among those killed was a pregnant soldier.
At his court-martial, Hasan admitted carrying out the shooting. Military Times reported that he sought to argue he had acted in defense of the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan.
A military jury convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in 2013. He was sentenced to death and sent to the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Hegseth’s Push Reaches A New Milestone
The execution order follows Hegseth’s September 2025 push for Trump to approve Hasan’s death sentence.
“The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays,” Hegseth said at the time, according to The Daily Wire’s reporting.
After Monday’s announcement, Hegseth responded with a single word on social media: “Justice.”
The Army’s decision to carry out the sentence at Fort Hood would return Hasan to the installation where he committed the murders. The last U.S. military execution took place in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.
Legal Challenges Could Still Delay Execution
The December date does not guarantee that the execution will proceed as scheduled.
An analysis published in the Army Lawyer in May explains that presidential approval allows a military death-row prisoner to seek review in the civilian federal courts through a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the conviction or confinement.
A prisoner can also ask a federal judge to stay the execution while that challenge proceeds. If granted, a stay would prevent the military from carrying out the sentence until the court proceedings conclude or the stay is lifted.
Trump’s approval and the Army’s order move Hasan’s case toward an execution after years on death row.
