ATLANTA — A Kenyan man learned his fate Monday in a New York courtroom after being convicted in November 2024 of plotting a 9/11-style terrorist attack targeting downtown Atlanta.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a member of the terrorist group al-Shabaab, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
“Today, justice has been served,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Abdullah, an al-Shabaab terrorist, sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history, as he prepared to hijack a commercial airliner to take down a building on U.S. soil. We thwarted this plot due to the relentless efforts of U.S. law enforcement and thereby likely saved many innocent lives. His life sentence is a powerful reminder that those who plot attacks against the United States will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Abdullah was convicted on multiple terrorism-related charges for planning to hijack a commercial airliner and crash it into the 55-story Bank of America Plaza in downtown Atlanta.
Prosecutors say Abdullah trained in explosives and aviation in the Philippines to execute the deadly plan, which he admitted was aimed at killing as many people as possible.
Abdullah told investigators he specifically targeted Atlanta due to the city’s status as a major air travel hub.
The FBI reported that Abdullah told them that he was fully prepared to die in the attack. Abdullah had completed nearly all the requirements for his commercial pilot license at the time of his arrest in 2019.
