Verdict handed down for suspect in Benghazi attack

Tuesday, November 28, 2017
WASHINGTON -- A federal jury has found a suspected Libyan militant not guilty of the most serious charges stemming from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens of Piedmont, as well as three other Americans.

Jurors on Tuesday convicted Ahmed Abu Khattala of terrorism-related charges but acquitted him of murder.

Prosecutors accused Abu Khattala of leading a rampage aimed at killing personnel and plundering maps and other property from the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Defense attorneys said their evidence against him was shoddy.

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Stevens was killed in the attack, along with a State Department information management officer. Two more Americans died in a mortar attack at a nearby CIA complex.

Stevens was a 1978 graduate of Piedmont High School. His brother and mother still live in the East Bay. In 2013, the Piedmont High library was rededicated in Stevens' name.

The Sept. 12, 2012, attack became political fodder in the 2012 presidential campaign.

ABC7 News contributed to this story.
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