World News

Military judge sets June 2028 trial date for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

A military judge rejected prosecution requests for a 2027 start, scheduling trial proceedings at Guantánamo Bay for mid-2028.

Updated Aug 26, 2026 · 23:18 UTC3 reports

The short version

Military judge Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set June 5, 2028, as the start date for the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three alleged co-conspirators.
The decision rejects a request by prosecutors to begin the trial in January 2027, with the judge determining that timeline was too soon.
The ruling follows a federal appeals court decision last summer that threw out a potential plea agreement that would have avoided a death penalty trial.
Mohammed and co-defendants Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi face charges over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Military judge Lt. Col. Michael Schrama ruled that trial proceedings on the merits will begin on June 5, 2028.[Fox News · ABC News]
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be tried alongside three co-defendants: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.[NBC News]
Prosecutors had requested a trial start date in January 2027, which Judge Schrama rejected.[Fox News · NBC News]
Mohammed was captured in 2003 and has been detained at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.[ABC News · NBC News]
A split federal appeals court last summer set aside a proposed plea agreement that would have spared Mohammed the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea.[NBC News]