A man accused of participating in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack will face an American judge for the first time on Friday, the Justice Department announced.
Mustafa al-Imam was captured in Libya on Sunday by U.S. forces, making him the second person suspected of a role in the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of four Americans to fall into American hands.
“He is scheduled to appear after 4:00 p.m. today … in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” the Justice Department announced in a statement.
Al-Imam was reportedly caught on video during the fighting in Benghazi. “It’s not initially clear whether the video shows al Imam at the consulate or the annex which was also attacked,” CNN reported.
The Benghazi attack began at a State Department consulate, before a second onslaught at a CIA annex nearby. The assault led to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.
“I spoke with some of my colleagues who served with these men,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday. “They described the news of the arrest as, quote, ‘emotional,’ saying that it marked an important day. They told me that the memory of Ambassador Stevens and the other men drives them and provides an ongoing tribute to the work that they are still engaged in Libya and around the issues involving Libya today.”
