A Kenyan man will spend the rest of his life in prison for planning what prosecutors called a "9/11-style attack" on Atlanta's tallest building, on behalf of an African-based terrorist organization.
A federal judge sentenced Cholo Abdi Abdullah, of 34 years, to two consecutive life sentences, as well as life imprisonment on supervised release, for plotting to hijack a commercial airliner and attack the 55-story Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta as part of a campaign by Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as al-Shabaab.
In 2024, a jury in Manhattan found Abdullah guilty on six counts: conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens abroad, conspiracy to commit air piracy, conspiracy to destroy aircraft, and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national borders.
A planned attack abroad
Federal prosecutors stated that Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and received extensive training on explosives, how to operate covertly, and how to avoid detection.
“He agreed to join al-Shabaab’s international plan to carry out an attack “A terrorist act with multiple victims, which would involve Abdullah training as an airline pilot to hijack a commercial airplane and crash it into a building in the United States,” the Justice Department wrote in a statement. Later, in 2017, he moved to the Philippines, where he began his commercial pilot training. While receiving his training, investigators say he conducted multiple online searches for air marshals and the “Boeing 737 cockpit door.” In January 2019, Abdullah searched for information about “Delta flights” and the “tallest building in Atlanta,” specifically focusing on the Bank of America Plaza, according to prosecutors.Abdullah had nearly completed his two-year pilot training when he was arrested months later on local charges. Authorities say he had met all the requirements for his commercial pilot's license except one. The following year, he was transferred to U.S. law enforcement. “Cholo Abdi Abdullah was a highly trained Al-Shabab operative dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks on behalf of a ruthless terrorist organization,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Abdullah obtained his commercial pilot's license from a flight school in the Philippines while meticulously planning attacks to hijack a commercial airliner and crash it into a building in the United States. As he later admitted to the FBI, he was fully prepared to die in his terrorist attack.” Abdullah represented himself during the trial. He declined to make a preliminary statement and did not actively participate in the questioning of witnesses. In 2008, the State Department designated Al-Shabab, which means “the youth” in Arabic, as a foreign terrorist organization. The militant group is an Al-Qaeda affiliate that has fought to establish an Islamic state in Somalia based on Islamic law.
