Hasan's Beard Keeps Him From Going to Court

Suspected shooter can't attend hearings until he shaves

A judge has barred an Army psychiatrist charged in a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood from military court because he still has a beard.

Maj. Nidal Hasan was told Tuesday that he couldn't attend any more hearings unless he shaves. The judge, Col. Gregory Gross, initially warned Hasan that he was violating Army policy at a hearing earlier this month.

Hasan was removed from court and was to watch the rest of Tuesday's proceedings on closed-circuit television from a nearby room.

Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe says Hasan grew the beard as a "deeply sincere" expression of his Islamic faith and because he has a premonition he will die soon.

Hasan faces the death penalty in the 2009 attack that killed 13 people in Texas.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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