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<em>A widow of a 9/11 victim used the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero to publicly demand that U.S. leaders hold Saudi Arabia accountable over longstanding allegations that Saudi government employees assisted some of the hijackers.</em>
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<p>Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed in the North Tower, spoke directly to current and former American leaders attending Friday’s remembrance, including former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as Vice President JD Vance.</p>
<p>”For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families,” Strada said, drawing applause from victims’ relatives and survivors gathered at the memorial site.</p>
<h2>The Legal Battle</h2>
<p>The dispute centers on a federal lawsuit brought by 9/11 families against Saudi Arabia, with fifteen of the nineteen hijackers having been Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied government involvement in or support for the attacks.</p>
<p>The lawsuit gained significant momentum in August 2025 when U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels rejected Saudi Arabia’s latest attempt to dismiss the case. Daniels determined that plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence regarding two Saudi nationals-Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy, both government employees-and their alleged contacts with two future hijackers who arrived in Southern California in January 2000.</p>
<p>The families allege Bayoumi and Thumairy provided crucial logistical assistance to the men after their arrival in the United States. Saudi Arabia has characterized any assistance as innocent and unrelated to the 9/11 conspiracy.</p>
A 9/11 widow just rent rogue in NYC…
She read her husbands name and then called out Islamic terror and Saudi Arabia.
She called out Bush, Obama, Biden and JD Vance/Trump while they sat right in front of her. The entire crowd at ground zero cheered. pic.twitter.com/xICEZL6FOv
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) September 11, 2026
<h2>New Evidence Emerges</h2>
<p>Newly disclosed records have intensified the families’ demands for accountability. The evidence includes a video allegedly showing Bayoumi filming Washington, D.C. landmarks in 1999, as well as a drawing containing calculations related to flying an aircraft toward a ground target.</p>
<p>The families contend this material supports their argument that Bayoumi’s activities were more significant than previously acknowledged. Strada said the accumulating evidence has strengthened her determination to continue pursuing the case.</p>
<h2>What’s Next</h2>
<p>Strada directly appealed to the Trump administration, saying “President Trump can still change that” regarding how the United States handles the Saudi allegations. She also urged Vice President Vance to convey her message back to the White House.</p>
<p>The legal path forward was opened by the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, which created an exception to foreign sovereign immunity permitting terrorism victims to pursue certain claims against foreign governments in U.S. courts.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia continues to reject all allegations and has emphasized its cooperation with the United States against al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. The kingdom maintains that Osama bin Laden deliberately recruited Saudi nationals partly to damage the U.S.-Saudi relationship.</p>
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<em>This story has been updated. CNN’s reporting staff contributed to this report.</em>
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