Abu Khatallah, the man accused of planning the 2012 terror attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, was found guilty of terrorism-related charges on Tuesday but was acquitted of more than dozen of the charges against him, including murder.
The seven-week trial featured testimony from survivors of the raid that killed four Americans and wounded others on Sept. 11, 2012. Khatallah’s case was viewed not only as a nonpartisan examination of an attack that served as political fodder for years, but as a legal test of the use of civilian courts to try foreign terrorism suspects.
After deliberating for less than a week, the Washington, D.C. jury convicted Khatallah of materially supporting terrorism, destroying government property and illegally carrying a firearm, according to multiple reports.
But on 14 of the 18 charges the government brought against Khatallah, which included murder, the jury found the suspected Benghazi mastermind not guilty.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in response to the ruling that a “small measure of justice was meted out” by the verdict handed down on Tuesday.
“A federal jury convicted Ahmed Abu Khatallah for the terror he inflicted upon the patriotic men and women – from the State Department and CIA – in Benghazi, Libya on the night of September 11, 2012. It took intelligence to find him, soldiers to assist in capturing him, law enforcement to interview him, and a legal team to put him away,” Pompeo said in a statement.
“Khatallah’s sentencing is to follow; but no term in prison will bring our people back,” Pompeo added. “We lost two of our own that night – Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods – who ran to the sound of the guns and bravely fought to protect Americans and the two U.S. facilities that were attacked. Also murdered were Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith – remarkable diplomats who volunteered to serve our nation in a dangerous place.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the verdict.
Trump hinted earlier this month that he would consider sending future terror suspects to Guantanamo Bay to await a military trial. His comments came after Sayfullo Saipov, 29, was accused of ramming a truck into a crowd of pedestrians in New York City on Halloween, killing eight and wounding 11 others. Saipov allegedly pledge allegiance to the Islamic State during and after the attack.
