A Kenyan national was found guilty on Monday of planning a 9/11-style attack on a U.S. building on behalf of the terrorist group al-Shabab.
A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Cholo Abdi Abdullah on six charges, including conspiracy to hijack an aircraft with the intent to crash it into a building, court records reveal. Abdullah, who acted as his own defense during the trial, largely refrained from participating, declining to make an opening statement or cross-examine witnesses.
Court documents indicate that Abdullah’s approach was to accept the trial’s outcome without resistance, as he reportedly questioned the legitimacy of the U.S. judicial system.
Federal prosecutors detailed how Abdullah had trained extensively over four years in explosives and covert operations. In 2017, he moved to the Philippines to begin flight training and was close to completing his pilot’s license when he was arrested in 2019 on unrelated charges. He was transferred to U.S. authorities in 2020 and subsequently charged with terrorism offenses.
Abdullah, set for sentencing next March, faces a minimum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors presented evidence that he had researched methods to breach cockpit doors and scouted information on U.S. skyscrapers prior to his arrest. Al-Shabab, a group linked to al-Qaida and seeking to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2008.
