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Written by: A. Smith
Published December 23, 2025 @ 10:15 AM ET
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – A Kenyan man who federal prosecutors said plotted a 9/11-style terrorist attack targeting a U.S. commercial flight and a prominent Atlanta skyscraper has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 34, received the sentence after a federal jury convicted him in November 2024 of six terrorism-related charges, including providing material support to the al-Qaida–linked group al-Shabaab, conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, aircraft piracy and acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
Prosecutors said Abdullah intended to hijack a commercial airliner and crash it into a building in the United States, specifically researching Delta Air Lines flights and Atlanta’s tallest skyscraper, the 55-story Bank of America Plaza. Court records show Abdullah deliberately pursued commercial pilot training so he could carry out a mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil.
According to trial evidence, Abdullah joined al-Shabaab in 2015 and spent about a year in Somalia receiving military-style training that included firearms and explosives. Senior operatives later selected him for an international plot that required him to become a pilot capable of commandeering an aircraft.
From October 2017 through July 2019, Abdullah attended a flight school in the Philippines, completing hundreds of hours of classroom instruction, simulator training and flight time toward a commercial pilot license. Prosecutors said al-Shabaab paid for his tuition using funds raised through extortion in Somalia.
By the time of his arrest in July 2019, Abdullah had nearly completed the requirements for a commercial pilot license and was close to earning the instrument rating necessary to fly for a major airline, authorities said.
After his arrest, Abdullah admitted to FBI agents that he was training as a pilot on behalf of al-Shabaab so he could hijack a plane. Investigators said he researched cockpit doors, airline security procedures, transit visa requirements and the feasibility of smuggling a knife onto an aircraft. Abdullah acknowledged that he expected others to be killed or injured in the attack and believed he would die as well.
Prosecutors said Abdullah intensified his planning in January 2019 after being briefed by his handler about a deadly al-Shabaab attack on a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya. Within days, he searched online for “Delta flights” and the “tallest building in Atlanta,” focusing on the Bank of America Plaza as a potential target.
Throughout his flight training, Abdullah sent progress updates to his handler, including observations made while traveling on commercial flights about cockpit visibility and reviews of previous post-Sept. 11 hijacking attempts. In one message introduced at trial, Abdullah wrote that “for a very successful mission, we need a pilot in the cockpit (which means I should apply for the airlines).”
Abdullah was transferred to U.S. custody in December 2020. Following his convictions, the court imposed two life sentences to be served consecutively, along with a lifetime of supervised release.
“Cholo Abdi Abdullah was a highly trained al-Shabaab operative who was dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement, adding that Abdullah was “fully prepared to die” in the planned attack.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the sentence reflected the gravity of the threat.
“Abdullah sought to replicate the most horrific terrorist attack in our history,” Eisenberg said. “We thwarted this plot due to the relentless efforts of U.S. law enforcement and thereby likely saved many innocent lives.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force with assistance from international and domestic law enforcement agencies and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security and International Narcotics Unit.