A federal jury in New York has convicted a Kenyan national for participating in a plot to hijack a commercial aircraft and crash it into a building in the United States.

Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 34, was an operative for al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda, according to court documents and evidence presented during the Nov. 4 trial in the Southern District of New York.

The jury found him guilty on six counts, including conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison on several counts and a mandatory minimum of 20 years on others.

“The jury found that Cholo Abdi Abdullah, an operative of the terrorist organization al Shabaab, conspired to murder Americans in a terrorist attack reminiscent of the September 11 attack on our country,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a Nov. 4 statement. “Today’s conviction ensures that Abdullah will spend decades in prison for his crimes. The Justice Department will never stop working to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who would use heinous acts of violence to harm the American people. It does not matter where terrorists hide, they will not evade the long arm of the law.”

Abdullah spent months training with AK-47 assault rifles and explosives at terrorist safe houses in Somalia, according to the indictment and the evidence presented at trial.

He spent several months at a flight school in the Philippines working toward obtaining a commercial pilot license, according to court documents. During this time, he conducted extensive research on post-9/11 hijackings, and methods to breach a cockpit door from the outside and identified potential targets, including the tallest buildings in major U.S. cities. He also researched how to obtain transit visas to the United States and how to secure pilot jobs.

Abdullah communicated his progress to his al-Shabaab handler through encrypted messages, detailing his flight training and attack planning, according to court documents. His actions were part of a broader operation by al-Shabaab, dubbed “Operation Jerusalem Will Never be Judaized,” launched in response to the United States’ decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2018.

“Today, the jury returned a unanimous verdict holding Cholo Abdi Abdullah responsible for trying to replicate one of history’s most heinous acts of terrorism,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said. “I commend the tireless work of our federal law enforcement partners and the career national security prosecutors of this office. Thanks to their work and today’s verdict, Abdullah will now serve a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from multiple international and U.S. agencies, including the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Philippine National Police.

Abdullah is scheduled for sentencing on March 10, 2025.

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