An Islamic terrorist who went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, will be executed by a U.S. Army firing squad, the Trump administration has confirmed.
In August 2013, after being court martialed, a military jury unanimously convicted Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him to death.
In the U.S. military justice system, death penalty cases are automatically appealed to the U.S. Army Criminal Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Hasan lost these appeals.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended “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.”
The president approved the recommendation; the Secretary of the Army will determine when the execution will occur, he said.
“Judgment day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell added.
Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 while shouting “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz lauded the news, saying, “Nidal Hasan is a radical Islamist terrorist who carried out an attack in Texas that killed and injured dozens of Americans. He deserved to be executed for his crimes, and I have fought throughout my entire Senate career to see that justice is served.”
Since his first year in the U.S. Senate, Cruz worked to ensure that “victims of the Fort Hood terrorist attack receive recognition for their service and sacrifice,” he said.
In 2014, Cruz, Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Reps. John Carter and Roger Williams, all Republicans from Texas, sponsored legislation to expand the eligibility for the Purple Heart to include victims of the Fort Hood attack. It was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress passed.
It amended federal law by clarifying that an act of violence should be considered an attack by a foreign terrorist organization if the perpetrator “was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack” and “the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.”
At the time, more than two dozen survivors of the Fort Hood terrorist attack, including those with serious injuries, were ineligible for the Purple Heart and medical benefits given to military personnel injured in combat. This was due to language in federal law and the Obama administration’s Defense Department refusing to classify the shooting as a terrorist attack, instead classifying it as “workplace violence.”
The classification drew outrage and calls for the U.S. military to improve its counterterrorism strategies.
“This attack was a clear act of radical Islamic terrorism, conducted on American soil – the original decision to designate it ‘workplace violence’ and deny these honors was a betrayal of the sacrifice of each of the victims,” Cruz said at the time. “We can never undo the events of that day, but we can properly honor the courageous patriots who protect our nation and remain forever grateful for them.”
After the NDAA was enacted, in 2015, the U.S. Army announced it would award the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to eligible victims of the Fort Hood attack.
The last time the U.S. Army executed a service member was on April 13, 1961. Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.
