Families of 9/11 Victims Mark 25th Anniversary with Calls for Accountability

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, families of victims gathered in Lower Manhattan to commemorate the lives lost. During the ceremony, Terry Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, publicly urged President Donald Trump to hold the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the attacks. Strada criticized previous U.S. administrations for their handling of the matter, accusing them of protecting the kingdom and withholding evidence over the past two decades.

The event was attended by Vice President JD Vance and four former U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Strada’s appeal follows a significant legal development in August 2025, when U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels ruled that families had presented sufficient evidence of Saudi government involvement to allow a multi-billion-dollar civil lawsuit to proceed. The litigation relies on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which enables victims to sue foreign governments for providing material support to terrorist organizations.