Guantanamo Judge Sets June 2028 Trial For Alleged 9/11 Plotters
Military judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the joint Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants.[1]
The joint proceeding will be the first full trial of the accused Sept. 11 plotters nearly three decades after the attacks.[1] The scheduling follows stalled plea negotiations and prolonged litigation over whether to admit evidence that critics say was produced by torture.[1] MS NOW also reported the judge's scheduling of the case.[2]
In summer 2024, a senior Pentagon official approved plea agreements under which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi would plead guilty in exchange for life sentences without parole. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voided the deals days later, and military judges initially said the agreements remained binding. On July 11, 2025, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that Austin had authority to withdraw, and the full court declined a rehearing in January 2026. With the plea deals nullified, pretrial litigation resumed before Lt. Col. Schrama, who has confronted unresolved disputes over evidence and set the June 2028 trial date.
The mainstream summary does not mention the extensive history of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's detention, having been held at Guantanamo since 2003, nor does it highlight the broader context of the 2,977 lives lost in the September 11 attacks. This omission downplays the profound implications of the delayed trial, which critics argue has turned the justice process into a farce, with one user on social media asserting that the quarter-century delay undermines accountability for such a monumental tragedy. Furthermore, the mainstream account frames the trial date as a straightforward scheduling decision, while analyses suggest that it reflects a deeper institutional trust collapse in the post-9/11 counterterrorism justice system, characterized by a series of legal and procedural failures stemming from the use of torture and the shift to military commissions. This structural explanation underscores that the delays are not merely administrative but are rooted in fundamental issues of fairness and legitimacy that have plagued the judicial process for over two decades.[3][4]) New York Times
Show source details & analysis (2 sources)
📊 Relevant Data
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in September 2006; the three co-defendants were transferred around the same period.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - The Rendition Project — The Rendition Project
The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people. ([Wikipedia (citing National September 11 Memorial & Museum)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_victims_of_the_September_11_attacks_(A%E2%80%93G)))
List of victims of the September 11 attacks (A–G) — Wikipedia (citing National September 11 Memorial & Museum)
As of July 2026, 15 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay, including the four defendants in this case.
The Guantánamo Docket: Detainees at the Prison at Guantanamo Bay — The New York Times
📌 Key Facts
- Military judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the joint Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co‑defendants.
- The case is scheduled as a joint Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused 9/11 plotters, rather than separate proceedings for each defendant.
- Axios framed the 2028 proceeding as the first full trial of the accused 9/11 plotters nearly three decades after the 2001 attacks.
- The trial scheduling follows years of stalled plea negotiations and prolonged litigation over the admissibility of evidence, including torture‑derived statements.
- The report was published by Axios on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 7:08 PM Central.
- The story ran under the Axios headline “Accused 9/11 plotters to stand trial in 2028,” signaling its focus on the long‑delayed criminal proceedings.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Article publication confirms Axios as an additional national outlet reporting that on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, military judge Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the joint Guantanamo trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co-defendants.
- Axios frames the 2028 Guantanamo trial as the first full trial of the accused 9/11 plotters nearly three decades after the attacks, underscoring the historical significance and delay.
- The piece reiterates that this scheduling comes after years of stalled plea negotiations and litigation over the admissibility of evidence, including torture-derived statements.