A U.S. military judge has set a June 5, 2028, trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001, attacks. The date would put Mohammed on trial nearly 27 years after hijackers flew commercial aircraft into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
Almost 3,000 people were killed. Schrama rejected prosecutors’ proposed January 11, 2027, start, ruling that it was incompatible with the outstanding pretrial litigation. The judge said the schedule must allow time to resolve evidentiary and compliance motions, including disputes over whether certain FBI-documented statements should be suppressed.
Mohammed will be tried alongside Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. All four are accused of participating in the plot and are being held at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Prosecutors allege that Mohammed developed and directed the plan to hijack passenger aircraft and crash them into prominent U.S. targets.
He was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006. The new date follows the collapse of a plea agreement that could have allowed Mohammed to admit guilt and receive life imprisonment without parole instead of facing a death-penalty trial. The court’s order establishes milestones leading to jury selection on June 5, 2028.
However, the schedule depends on the parties meeting the intervening deadlines, meaning further delays remain possible. This is a developing story.
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