Military Judge Sets June 2028 Trial Date for 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Co-Defendants

A military judge ruled Wednesday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September 11 terror attacks, and three alleged co-conspirators will face trial beginning June 5, 2028. Lt. Col. Michael Schrama rejected prosecutors’ request to commence proceedings in January 2027, determining that the earlier date would not provide sufficient time to resolve pretrial matters. The four defendants have remained detained at Guantánamo Bay since 2003 in connection with the 2001 attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

Schrama’s decision established a comprehensive scheduling framework with specific milestones and deadlines extending through the June 2028 trial date. The judge emphasized that the prosecution’s proposed January 2027 timeline failed to account adequately for hearing and resolution of pretrial evidentiary matters, FBI suppression motions, and compliance issues. The new order preserves existing deadlines governing ongoing pretrial litigation while creating an overarching structure for the case’s progression.

Under the court’s schedule, jury selection will commence June 5, 2028, with opening statements beginning 30 days after commission members are empaneled. Prosecutors will present evidence immediately following opening statements, after which defendants have 14 days to file motions for findings of not guilty. The defendants are permitted to defer their opening statements until the prosecution concludes its case-in-chief.

The trial framework follows years of legal disputes, including a failed plea agreement initiative. A divided federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled in 2025 that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin possessed legal authority to withdraw plea agreements that would have allowed Mohammed and two co-defendants to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences without parole, effectively removing the possibility of capital punishment. The D.C. Circuit’s 2-1 majority determined that Austin acted within his legal authority, stating that families and the American public deserved the opportunity to witness military commission trials.

Mohammed, a Pakistani national, faces accusations of orchestrating the September 11, 2001, plot in which hijackers commandeered commercial aircraft and crashed them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania. The June 2028 trial date marks a significant step forward in a prosecution that has remained in pretrial proceedings for two decades while the military commission addressed evidentiary disputes and other legal issues.