Military judge sets June 2028 trial for alleged 9/11 mastermind

A U.S. military judge has scheduled the long-awaited trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to begin on June 5, 2028. The ruling, issued on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, by Air Force Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama, sets a date nearly 27 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and more than two decades after Mohammed's capture.

The trial date was set in a scheduling order that rejected a prosecution request to begin proceedings in January 2027. Judge Schrama determined that the proposed early date was "incompatible" with the need to resolve significant pretrial litigation, including disputes over evidence and compliance motions. The order establishes a series of deadlines and milestones leading up to the 2028 trial, though it notes that the date is contingent on both sides meeting those requirements, meaning further delays remain possible.

Mohammed will be tried alongside three alleged co-conspirators: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (also known as Ammar al-Baluchi), and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. All four men are among the last detainees held at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay,...