President Trump has ordered Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan executed by firing squad for the November 5, 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas, and has confirmed plans for the execution to be carried out publicly and live streamed.
The President described the decision in remarks carried by @RapidResponse47: "We're giving a man the death penalty who killed 14 soldiers... Death penalty through firing squad — and he deserves it. He killed and wounded many, many people. A maniac."
Asked directly whether he approved the execution, the President answered: "I did."
The Attack and the Names
According to the account published by @RapidResponse47, Hasan walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, where unarmed troops were lined up for medical checks. He screamed "Allahu Akbar" and started shooting, killing 13 and wounding 32.
Michael Cahill, a 62-year-old retired chief warrant officer working as a civilian physician assistant, charged Hasan with a chair and was shot dead.
Capt. John Gaffaney and Spc. Frederick Greene rushed him with bare hands and were gunned down before they reached him.
Pfc. Francheska Velez, 21, just home from Iraq and pregnant with her first child, was shot in the chest. She cried out, "My baby! My baby!" before she and her unborn child died there.
Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, a 55-year-old grandmother of six, lay bleeding from a bullet. The wounded crawled through the blood of the dead while the terrorist kept firing.
'Totally Nuts'
Asked whether he worried the video of the execution could be used as propaganda to radicalize others, the President said: "The determination about that, but he will be killed, he will be through firing squad. He killed 13-14 people, badly wounded, 20 some odd people, and he's totally nuts. So I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes, and I think that the death penalty is a very worthy way of going to him."
On the live stream and the public nature of the execution, the President said: "They want to do that because they want to set an example. I wasn't involved in that decision, but I understand the decision."
"He went and he killed 14 people. He badly, badly wounded that 22 people walked into a room, just started firing at everybody, screaming things that he shouldn't be screaming. So I guess they want to have it served as an example, and I understand that very well."
Thirteen Years on Death Row
Per the @RapidResponse47 thread, the wait for justice is nearly over after 13 years on death row. On the President's order, Hasan will be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood — the very ground where he screamed "Allahu Akbar" and murdered the soldiers he had sworn to defend.
The thread states Hasan was a Muslim extremist who researched jihad, corresponded with the al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, trained at the range, and meticulously planned the slaughter.
Hasan later admitted he "switched sides" and said he did it to protect the Taliban.
The President's remarks came in response to questions about the method and the decision to make the execution public. His answer was blunt: "I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes."
