A federal jury in Manhattan convicted a Kenyan man Monday of plotting a September 11-style aircraft attack on a U.S. building on behalf of the terrorist organization al-Shabab.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah was found guilty on all six counts related to conspiring to hijack an aircraft and crash it into a building. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison when he appears for sentencing next March.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Abdullah spent four years preparing for the attack, including extensive training in explosives and covert operations. In 2017, he relocated to the Philippines to begin commercial pilot training, nearly completing the two-year program before his 2019 arrest on local charges.
Abdullah, who chose to represent himself, took a passive role in his defense, declining to make an opening statement or question witnesses. Court documents revealed his pre-trial statement that he would “merely sit passively during the trial, not oppose the prosecution and whatever the outcome, he would accept the outcome because he does not believe that this is a legitimate system.”
Prosecutors, who concluded their case Thursday, detailed how Abdullah conducted research on cockpit door breaches and gathered information about “the tallest building in a major U.S. city” before his arrest. He was transferred to U.S. custody in 2020 and charged with terrorism-related crimes.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by al-Shabab, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in 2008, to strike U.S. targets. The militant group, whose name means “the youth” in Arabic, operates as an al-Qaida affiliate seeking to establish an Islamic state in Somalia based on Shariah law.
Attorneys appointed to assist Abdullah’s self-defense did not respond to requests for comment following the verdict.
