Key participant in 2012 Benghazi assault has been dropped at U.S. to face costs, DOJ says

An alleged key participant within the 2012 assault in Benghazi assault that killed 4 Individuals has been taken into custody and is now dealing with costs within the U.S., Justice Division officers stated Friday.

The case in opposition to Zubayar al-Bakoush was introduced by Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi, U.S. Legal professional for the District of Columbia Jeannie Pirro, and FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil,” Bondi stated.

Bondi stated that Al-Bakoush had landed at Joint Base Andrews at 3 a.m. on Friday. Officers did not say how lengthy he’d been in custody, or the place he had been apprehended, simply that he was within the U.S. and would face costs within the District of Columbia.

The assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission within the Libyan metropolis of Benghazi in 2012 killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

Pirro stated that an eight-count indictment charged Al-Bakoush with crimes together with the murders of Stevens and State Division worker Sean Smith. The case was introduced in the course of the Obama administration in 2015 and was sealed for greater than a decade.

It was unclear if Al-Bakoush had an legal professional representing him.

The 2012 assault on the U.S. compound grew to become an immediately divisive political challenge; Republicans criticized the response by President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, questioned the administration’s narrative about who was accountable and the safety on the compound.

Republicans within the Home launched six investigations of the Obama administration’s dealing with of the episode.

The US has not had an embassy in Libya since 2014 on account of a chaotic civil battle and within the wake of the 2012 lethal assault.

U.S. officers dealing with diplomacy with Libya have operated from the American embassy in neighboring Tunisia and Individuals are inspired to keep away from journey to Libya.

In March 2024, the Biden administration instructed Congress it deliberate to reopen an embassy in Libya in 2025, and requested funding from lawmakers. However the Trump administration has not stated what it plans to do in Libya.