A highly trained al-Shabaab operative has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to commit a 9/11-style terrorist attack on behalf of the terrorist organization. Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a trained pilot, was convicted of multiple crimes including conspiring to provide and provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, commit aircraft piracy, destroy aircraft, and commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
Abdullah’s conviction followed a jury trial that concluded on November 4, 2024. His sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
According to court documents and evidence at trial, al-Shabaab is a terrorist organization and al-Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia and active in other locations in East Africa. Since its formation, al-Shabaab has relied on violence, including assassinations, suicide bombings, armed assaults on hotels, restaurants, beaches, and an array of civilian targets to pursue its goals.
Abdullah pursued his commercial pilot license at a flight school in the Philippines while conducting extensive attack planning on how to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a building in America. He was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack, according to FBI agents.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton commended the years of outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the career prosecutors who disrupted Abdullah’s murderous plot and brought him to face justice in a U.S. court.
Abdullah will now spend life behind bars, where he will not be able to harm innocent Americans. The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force remains steadfast in its relentless determination to protect the American people from terrorists and their heinous desires.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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