As reported by the Associated Press, victims and surviving family members of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre have filed a lawsuit against the US government alleging negligence and shirking of responsibility. They claim the government is attempting to avoid liability by referring to the attack as “workplace violence” rather than terrorism:
The lawsuit alleging negligence by the government said that the Defense Read more
A Fort Hood press release notes the training program for Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling. In a trait few seem to realize, the chaplains who attend the program are not only specially trained in counseling, they also get a degree in the process:
“Our primary mission is to train Army chaplains in marriage and family counseling,” said Chap. [LtCol] Mark Knox, director of the FLCTC… “[Chaplains] go to school and get an additional degree over at Texas A&M in Counseling Psychology. And then we provide Read more
Floyd Corkins is the man who allegedly tried to enter the Family Research Council’s building in Washington, DC, with 15 Chick-FIL-A sandwiches, a gun, and 50 rounds of ammunition. He wounded a guard before he was wrestled to the ground. He claimed he didn’t like the FRC’s politics.
He has been charged with domestic terrorism.
Corkins, of Herndon, Virginia, pleaded not guilty in a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts. The charges include committing an act of terrorism Read more
Despite his claim that he grew his beard for religious reasons, an Army appeals court has ruled US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, may be forcibly shaved to meet US Army grooming standards.
The court also ruled that Col. Gregory Gross, the trial judge, properly found that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not give Hasan the right to have a beard while in uniform Read more
Col Gregory Gross, the judge presiding over the murder trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the Fort Hood massacre, followed through on his threat and issued an order that Hasan must shave — or he will be shaved.
Gross…issued his order Thursday after a hearing to determine whether a federal religious freedom law applied to Hasan’s case. Soldiers may be granted permission to grow beards for religious reasons, and six soldiers have been allowed to do so: a rabbi, two Muslim doctors and three Sikhs, according to Army records.
Hasan said he is violating regulations not out of disrespect, but of religious requirement:
Hasan told the judge last week that he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, not as a show of disrespect. Gross ruled Thursday that the defense didn’t prove Hasan is growing a beard for sincere religious reasons.
While the whole concept might sound a bit odd to outsiders, forced Read more
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the death penalty sentence of former Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth G. Parker:
The court threw out Parker’s conviction for one of the two murders and reassessed his sentence for the other crime. The decision continues a trend of military death sentences being overturned on appeal — 11 out of 16 death sentences since 1984. The last military execution occurred in 1961.
Parker’s crime occurred in 1992.
The ruling was made Read more
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s trial on charges he murdered 13 people and tried to kill 32 more in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 has been delayed — again — as the defense appeals the trial judge’s demand that Hasan be shaved — forcibly, if necessary.
Hasan has grown the beard in violation of Army regulations, and Gross has not allowed him to stay in the courtroom, saying the beard is a disruption. However, the judge said he wants Hasan in the room during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted. He said Hasan would be forcibly shaved at some point Read more
Accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — yes, he is still in the US Army — has been fined by his military judge for refusing to shave. Hasan is required to abide by military dress and personal appearance regulations, which generally prohibit beards. (As noted earlier, beards are also prohibited in the militaries of some predominantly Islamic countries.)
Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan’s attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith. Read more