Ex-soldier convicted of threatening Fort Hood rampage

WACO, Texas – An ex-soldier from Texas has been convicted of making threats to go on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

A federal jury in Waco on Tuesday found Thomas Anthony Chestnut Jr. guilty of threatening a uniformed service member and using interstate communications to threaten injury. The 29-year-old Dripping Springs man could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on Dec. 1.

Trial evidence showed Chestnut called Fort Hood in February saying he was a former soldier wrongly accused of a crime. He said he’d shoot soldiers at the Army post if he didn’t receive back pay.

In 2009, 13 people were killed and 31 others wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan, a former U.S. Army major, was convicted and sentenced to death in that shooting.