(New York, N.Y.) — On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) Center at Fort Hood, Texas. He opened fire while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” killing 13 individuals (12 service members and one Department of Defense civilian) and wounding 32 others. On August 23, 2013, he was found guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He was sentenced to death and remains confined on Death Row at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In March 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Hasan’s final appeal. CEP CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace stated:

“On this anniversary, we remember the victims of the Fort Hood terror attack and the lasting scars it left on our military community. Despite being a U.S. service member, Hasan was motivated by Islamist extremism—a fact established beyond dispute by investigators and his own words and actions.”

From December 2008 through June 2009, Hasan exchanged emails with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born terrorist later killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

“Hasan sought spiritual ’guidance’ from Awlaki asking about the legitimacy of jihad and collateral damage in attacks on American troops. Though Awlaki may not have ordered the massacre directly, his extremist ideology clearly fueled the perpetrator’s radicalization. The Fort Hood attack underscores the grave danger posed by ideological infiltration and the urgent need to detect and disrupt radicalization within our armed forces.

“We honor the victims, salute the courage of first responders, and reaffirm our commitment to confronting extremism wherever it appears. The military must never let Islamist ideology corrupt its ranks again.”

In September, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reaffirmed his “100 percent commitment to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan.” The Pentagon has reportedly requested final authorization from President Donald Trump to proceed—an act that, if approved, would mark the first military execution in more than 60 years.

Click here for CEP’s report on Nidal Hasan.

Click here for CEP’s report on Anwar al-Awlaki.

Click here to listen to Ambassador Wallace’s comments on CEP’s pivotal role in deplatforming Awlaki from YouTube.