The trial of Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a Kenyan national convicted of planning a 9/11-style attack in the United States, has been postponed to April 7, 2025, after he requested new legal representation.
Abdullah had been convicted of plotting to hijack a commercial aircraft and crash it into a U.S. skyscraper. However, the plan was foiled when he was arrested in the Philippines in July 2019.
Appearing before Judge Analisa Torres on Monday, Abdullah requested new lawyers after representing himself during the previous trial.
He rejected the standby counsel offered by the judge, expressing his desire to start fresh.
“I don’t want these two lawyers to represent me. I want to start fresh,” Abdullah stated, as reported by ABC News.
Following his request, the judge adjourned the trial and stated she would appoint new counsel for Abdullah.
The 34-year-old was found guilty on six charges, including conspiring to support a foreign terrorist organization, planning to murder U.S. nationals, plotting aircraft piracy, and intending to commit terrorism.
Prosecutors are pushing for a life sentence, arguing that Abdullah remains a significant threat to global security.
Court documents reveal that Abdullah, trained by al Shabaab in Somalia, planned to replicate the 9/11 attacks.
He later went to the Philippines, where he earned a private pilot’s license and was close to obtaining a commercial license before his arrest.
Prosecutors also linked Abdullah to the 2019 DusitD2 complex attack in Nairobi, which killed at least 21 people.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the efforts of law enforcement, stating that Abdullah’s conviction would ensure he serves a lengthy federal prison sentence.
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