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The Department of Justice announced this week that Zubayr al-Bakoush, an alleged key participant in the 2012 Benghazi terror attack, has been taken into U.S. custody and brought to Washington to face charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel held a press conference outlining that this long-sought arrest follows a decade-plus investigation into the murders of four Americans.
Prosecutors unsealed an eight-count indictment charging al-Bakoush with murder, attempted murder, terrorism, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and arson — crimes so heinous that a conviction could bring the death penalty or life imprisonment. The arrest and transfer were carried out quietly through international cooperation, underscoring that justice can reach even those who thought time would shield them.
This moment is a vindication for every American who demanded accountability after Benghazi, and a credit to the Justice Department teams who never stopped working on sealed leads and sealed complaints. Officials refused to disclose operational details about the capture, rightly protecting methods that brought a terror suspect to American soil so he can be tried under American law.
We should never let history forget who died that night — Ambassador Christopher Stevens, State Department employee Sean Smith, and contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty — and the politically convenient cover-ups that followed. Republicans have long blasted the Obama-era response and investigations into the security failures and delayed accountability, and today’s arrest raises hard questions about why it took so long to bring more perpetrators to justice.
The record shows al-Bakoush was first charged by a sealed complaint in 2015, but that charge languished until now; U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro will oversee the prosecution as families finally see movement toward answers. The cases against other Benghazi suspects — including previous captures and convictions — proved the Justice Department can succeed when political will exists, and it must continue until every accomplice is held accountable.
Conservatives should applaud the bold work of law enforcement while demanding no soft treatment for those who murdered Americans in cold blood; if the evidence supports capital punishment, it should be pursued to the fullest extent of the law. This is not vengeance for the sake of vengeance — it is necessary deterrence and the only honest way to honor the fallen and protect future diplomats and servicemembers.
Let there be no mistaking the message: when terrorists strike Americans, our government must have the competence and backbone to chase them down, bring them here, and put them before a jury. The families of Stevens, Smith, Woods, and Doherty deserve closure, and the American people deserve a Justice Department that acts decisively and without political cowardice.
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