Man convicted of plotting 9/11-style attack asks for new lawyers at sentencing

The sentencing of Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a Kenyan national who was convicted of plotting a 9/11-style attack on the United States, was adjourned Monday after he asked for new lawyers.

"I was thinking of having new lawyers who will represent me," said Abdullah, who represented himself during the trial last year that ended with him being convicted on all six federal counts.

The judge had appointed standby counsel but Abdullah said he did not want them to represent him at sentencing.

"I don't want these two lawyers to represent me. I want to start fresh," said Abdullah, who appeared in a wrinkled beige jail smock over a bright orange T-shirt and spoke slowly and softly in response to several of the judge's questions.

Judge Analisa Torres closed the courtroom for a private conference with Abdullah. When court resumed, Torres announced she would appoint new counsel and adjourn sentencing to April 7.

Federal prosecutors have asked the court to imprison Abdullah for life.

"The defendant's terrorism crimes, combined with his specialized, al-Shabaab financed pilot skills, which he will have for the rest of his life, underscore that he poses a real and ongoing threat to innocent lives around the world. He remains a skillful, well-educated, and highly trained terrorist who is readily capable of hijacking a commercial aircraft to commit a terrorist act," federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "Law enforcement thwarted the defendant's plot shortly before he obtained his commercial pilot's license -- inches away from bringing his murderous plans to fruition."

Abdullah wanted to fly a plane into the "tallest buildings" in Atlanta, including the 55-story Bank of America Plaza, on behalf of the terror group al-Shabab, federal prosecutors said.

As federal prosecutors described it, Abdullah sought to "carry out a chilling plot to hijack a commercial airplane, crash it into a building in the United States, and recreate al Qaeda's horrific September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks."

He first trained with al-Shabaab for months in Somalia, learning to fire AK-47 assault rifles and make deadly explosives, prosecutors said. Then, he enrolled in a flight school in the Philippines and devoted hundreds of hours earning the flight certifications necessary to fly large commercial aircraft, prosecutors said.

"All told, the defendant secured his private pilot's license and came terrifyingly close to getting his commercial pilot's license just before he was arrested," prosecutors said.

Abdullah joined Al-Shabaab in 2015 after becoming more religious and listening to the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki. Facebook messages show regular communication between group members regarding training, prayers, planning attacks, getting money and plans for Abdullah to attend flight school, prosecutors said.

After living in a safe house and receiving training for three months, Abdullah was sent to flight school in the Philippines. While he was away, some members of his safe house carried out a bombing and shooting at the DusitD2 complex in Nairobi, Kenya, according to federal prosecutors.

Abdullah was arrested by officials in the Philippines in July 2019. During his interrogation, he said he told his mother he had joined Al-Shabaab and that she alerted authorities, prosecutors said. Abdullah cooperated with the FBI, providing details of who was communicating with, how he was trained and other information.