Landlady Ties 2 Pentagon Hijackers to Saudi Suspect in $1 Trillion 9/11 Case
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 29
Landlady Ties 2 Pentagon Hijackers to Saudi Suspect in $1 Trillion 9/11 Case
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 29
Summary
Holly Ratchford, speaking publicly for the first time 25 years later, said Omar al-Bayoumi personally helped Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar rent an apartment near his own in San Diego.
Her account undercuts Bayoumi's claim that his contact with the two men was brief: she said he repeatedly sought a unit near him, co-signed their lease, paid overdue rent and was seen socializing with them afterward.
Ratchford has already given a sealed declaration in the families' $1 trillion lawsuit, where a federal judge last year said evidence supports a reasonable inference that Bayoumi and a Saudi diplomat coordinated with the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia and Bayoumi deny any role in 9/11, but the appeal is moving ahead, with oral arguments scheduled in October as families press claims over support for the nearly 3,000 victims' attackers.
How did a friendly neighbor secretly bankroll 9/11 hijackers while they were already on an FBI watch list?
Could a single lease agreement from 2000 upend decades of official narratives about the 9/11 attacks?
The $1 Trillion 9/11 Lawsuit: How U.S. Courts Are Forcing Saudi Arabia to Face Decades-Old Terror Allegations
Overview
The $1 trillion lawsuit against Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks has reached a turning point after a 2025 court ruling allowed the case to proceed, thanks to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which lets victims sue foreign governments for supporting terrorism on U.S. soil. In 2026, the case entered an aggressive discovery phase, uncovering declassified evidence like videos and documents linking Saudi agents to the hijackers. International cooperation and intelligence sharing failures, especially with the UK, are under scrutiny. The legal window for claims remains open until late 2026, while victims push for justice and legislative safeguards to prevent frozen assets from being returned to state sponsors of terrorism before compensation is paid.