The trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, has been scheduled to begin on June 5, 2028. The date was set by U.S. Air Force judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama, who denied a prosecution request for a 2027 start date, stating it was too soon.
Mohammed, along with three co-accused—Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi—will stand trial more than 25 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The judge indicated that the 2028 date would allow sufficient time to address pretrial matters, including resolving disputes over admissible evidence.
Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in March 2003 and has been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay since September 2006. He has previously claimed responsibility for planning the "9/11 operation from A-to-Z." The U.S. government has described the 9/11 attacks as "the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history."
A plea deal that would have seen Mohammed admit guilt in exchange for avoiding a death sentence was thrown out by a federal appeals court last summer. The agreement, which would have resulted in a sentence of life without parole, was the product of two years of negotiation and was signed by an official appointed by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Austin reportedly expressed surprise at the deal and moved to revoke it.
In the September 11 attacks, hijackers flew commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft.