AG Bondi: 'Key Participant' in Custody in 2012 Benghazi Attack

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday announced the FBI had captured and extradited Zubayr al-Bakoush, a suspect in the 2012 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

During a Justice Department press conference, Bondi said the FBI arrested the suspect overseas and transferred him into U.S. custody early Thursday morning.

"The man landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 3 a.m. this morning," Bondi said. "He is in our custody."

Bondi said the suspect was greeted upon arrival by FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who is expected to lead the prosecution.

"This man will now face American justice on American soil," Bondi said, adding that the defendant will face charges related to "murder, terrorism, arson, among others."

Bondi emphasized that the families of the fallen Americans have waited more than a decade for accountability.

"We lost four American lives that day," she said, naming Stevens, State Department official Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

"We have never forgotten those heroes and we have never stopped seeking justice for that crime against our nation."

Bondi also referenced former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's infamous comment during congressional testimony about Benghazi — "What difference, at this point, does it make?" — saying the new arrest underscores that justice still matters.

"It makes a difference to Donald Trump and to those families," Bondi said.

Patel echoed the message, crediting Trump for giving federal law enforcement the resources to pursue terror suspects worldwide.

"President Trump has given us the full resources at the FBI across the interagency to deliver justice," Patel said.

Patel described the Benghazi case as deeply personal, saying he worked on it earlier in his career as a prosecutor in the Justice Department’s national security division.

"We lost four Americans and can never, ever forget them," Patel said. "We will not."

Pirro said that an eight-count indictment charged al-Bakoush with crimes including the murders of Stevens and Smith. It was unclear if al-Bakoush had an attorney representing him.

Patel praised the FBI’s long-term effort to track the suspect, including agents from the New York Field Office, the Hostage Rescue Team, and other specialized units involved in international operations.

He also said the arrest was part of a broader push by the Trump administration to aggressively pursue the "worst of the worst" criminals and terror suspects.

Patel claimed federal authorities have captured six FBI Most Wanted fugitives in one calendar year — "two more than the entirety of the prior administration."

The announcement comes as renewed attention has focused on Benghazi in conservative circles, where the 2012 attack has long been viewed as a symbol of Obama-era foreign policy failures and political evasions.

Bondi said the arrest should serve as a warning to terrorists worldwide.

"If you commit a crime against the American people anywhere in this world," she said, "President Trump’s Justice Department will find you. You can run, but you cannot hide."

On the night of Sept. 11, 2012, U.S. officials have said, at least 20 militants armed with AK-47s and grenade launchers breached the gate of the consulate compound and set buildings on fire.

The fire led to the deaths of Stevens and Smith. Other State Department personnel escaped to a nearby U.S. facility known as the annex.

A large group assembled for an attack on the annex. That attack, including a precision mortar barrage, resulted in the deaths of Woods and Doherty.

A Libyan militant suspected of being a mastermind of the attacks, Ahmed Abu Khattala, was captured by U.S. special forces in 2014 and was brought to Washington for prosecution.

He was convicted and is serving a prison sentence. His attorneys argued that the evidence was inconclusive and that he was singled out because of his ultra-conservative Muslim beliefs.